Description
The Recycling project collects recyclables door-to-door through waste pickers associated with cooperatives registered with the City Hall. These collectors are provided with electric tricycles equipped with buckets to help them collect more recyclables. All collected materials are taken to the ecopoint connected to the Recycling project, then directed to the partner waste pickers' associations, Moura Brasil and ASCA-ROSA.
The Recycling project was launched in 2021, on a pilot basis, with the distribution of 18 tricycles. In September 2022, the project was expanded, with the delivery of four other vehicles. In partnership with iFood and Startup Solos, a selective collection scheduling system was implemented for two partner associations. Members of these associations receive a fixed minimum wage, food allowance, and transportation vouchers. There is a prospect of expanding the project to all neighborhoods in the city, which would make it possible to achieve a recycling rate of 50% in eight years.
The city has already delivered 22 tricycles to waste pickers from 13 associations. Two of them have had an online collection scheduling system since September 2022.
The electric tricycles have an assisted pedal, maximum power of 350 watts, autonomy of 30 km and reach 25 km/h. The efficiency in the collection results in greater amounts of recyclable material and places Fortaleza as a highlight in the performance of the increase in waste recycling. Currently, the index is almost 9%, above the country's average, which is about 4%.
Areas of expertise: Praia de Iracema; Centro; Varjota; Mucuripe and Meireles
What they collect:
PAPER: Cardboard, Books, Magazines, and Newspapers
PLASTIC: Hard plastic, PVC, Soft plastic, PET
GLASS: Pots, Bottles
METAL: Iron, Stainless Steel, Lead, Bronze, Aluminum
APPLIANCES: Refrigerator, Stove, Microwave, Washer
OTHERS: Oil, Styrofoam
Criteria 11/11
- ACCESSIBILITY
- ALIGNMENT WITH SDG 1,3,4,6 AND/OR 11
- RACE AND GENDER ISSUES
- ATTENTION TO CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
- LOW COST
- SOCIAL DIFFUSION
- ADMINISTRATIVE EFFICIENCY
- ADHERENCE AND CONTINUITY AT LOCAL LEVEL
- WASH INITIATIVE
- CLIMATE RESILIENCE
- SUSTAINABILITY
The City of Fortaleza is responsible for developing the program, while iFood supports the project through investment and its expertise in logistics, utilizing low-environmental-impact vehicles in urban areas. The startup SOLOS supports the project based on its sustainable experiences and intelligent systems. The collected materials are delivered to the associations that collect recyclable materials.
Population of Fortaleza
Recyclable Material Waste Pickers
The neighborhoods of Fortaleza are currently served door to door: Centro, Praia de Iracema, Meireles, Varjota and Mucuripe, and commercial and residential managers can request the selective collection service directly.
Since 2021
Collections can be scheduled and requested by app. Based on the requests, an optimized route is set up for the waste picker to collect the tricycles, send them to the ecopoint and then send them to cooperatives or associations.
The Project Website and Project App provide easy access to interested parties. They are interactive platforms with facilitated language and images.
The tricycles, while circulating through the streets, capture public attention and serve as a communication tool to encourage more people to participate in selective collection.
All collected material is weighed at the ecopoints and is also weighed at the cooperatives, to obtain the volume of materials that are collected and sold periodically.
Project results from Sept. to Nov/2022:
• recycled waste; 53 tons
• income generated for associations: R$75,712
• neighborhoods covered: 05
• participating users: 298
Public-private partnership between the City Hall and partner companies.
