Catalyzing Investment in Urban Sustainability
U.S.-Brazil Joint Initiative on
Urban Sustainability

Policy

Municipal Recycling Collection Expansion

Policy Overview

Currently, the City of Rio de Janeiro gathers only 1 percent of recyclables through official collection of separated materials, and reaches less than one-third of the City through its efforts. Given the great opportunity to increase the collection of recycled material in the City, the closing of informal waste sorting networks, and the passage of the National Solid Waste Law, the City has decided to prioritize increasing household waste separation and recycling programs. The City and its Municipal Urban Waste/Cleaning Company (COMLURB) aim to collect an additional 31,000 tons of waste per year by 2015, raising overall recycling rates to 5 percent. By 2025, the City hopes to have reached 20 percent collection.

It will also work with industries to enhance extended producer responsibility and with local waste picker cooperatives in order to secure a place for these low-income workers in the recycling collection and processing system.

How to Apply this Policy

To significantly increase door-to-door recycling and waste separation, the City is taking several steps, including launching education campaigns, increasing recyclables pick-up frequency, building new processing points, installing EcoPontos (recycling drop-off points in low-income communities) in conjunction with some Morar Carioca projects, and exploring options to enhance reverse logistics. A major part of this program includes investing in the capacity of the City to accommodate the collection and processing of waste, and so COMLURB will build six new processing facilities as well as help waste picker cooperatives shift to recycling collection and processing. The project is financed with support from BNDES (Brazilian National Development Bank).

Contact Information
Bruno Neele
International Relations, City of Rio de Janeiro
Email: bruno.neele@cvl.rj.gov.br