New year, clean beach. On the Fortaleza waterfront, the turning point came in the wake of sustainability. A group of 350 collectors from local associations and freelancers collected eight tons of recyclable waste during New Year's Eve events on December 30th and 31st.
The initiative was part of the project Re-cycle, a free recyclable collection platform from the city of Fortaleza that has, in addition to iFood, partnerships with the startup Soils and from Ecofor Ambiental.
Of the total collected, 64% was glass waste, 17% aluminum waste, 15% plastic waste and 4% cardboard waste, according to the city of Fortaleza. Each collector earned, on average, R$ 660 for two days of work, double the amount they usually collect per month.
To encourage awareness about the correct disposal of waste, 40 disposal points were installed throughout the area occupied by the festivities. New Year's Eve in Fortaleza. In these locations, there was signage about the appropriate management of each type of waste.
All the material collected was allocated to two recycling centers set up at the Praia de Iracema landfill. After being separated and weighed, the waste was sent to the recycling association warehouse.
The sustainable balance of the festivities does not stop there. For every ton of recyclable waste collected, the Re-ciclo project, with the participation of its supporters, will plant a thousand trees. There will then be 8 thousand in total, enriching the vegetation cover of Fortaleza.
What is Re-cycle?
Re-ciclo emerged in September 2022. Its objectives are to promote door-to-door selective collection in homes, bars and restaurants in five neighborhoods in the municipality and reach the mark of 370 tons of recyclables collected by June 2023.
In Re-ciclo, collection is done by electric tricycles driven by collectors from associations selected to work in the project to generate greater social inclusion and increased income for the collectors.
Fortaleza was also, in September, the first city in the country to join the “Guide to a Model City in Waste Management and Recycling”, publication created by iFood in partnership with Manuia Consulting.
The result of an immersion in the challenges of recycling waste in Brazil, the guide was prepared based on the Policy and the National Solid Waste Plan (PNRS). The publication became part of the Greener Fortaleza Program, guiding practices such as the management of recyclable waste in large cities, moving towards a model that meets current policy.
