Each and every one of us generates some 1.2 kg of trash everyday, according to data gathered by the World Bank in 2010. In a large city like São Paulo, in Brazil, whose population is somewhere around 21 million people, the amount of trash becomes a burden to all. It’s expensive to manage, and when this management isn’t effective, it can quickly become a health and environment hazard. Part of the solution for this problem has to do with a changing perspectives: we’re not talking about trash we are talking about residue. Trash is something no one wants. In the circular economy logic, residue can have a second chance at a new product life cycle.

One way of recovering value from residue is through recycling. It’s rather simple for the consumer to properly separate his or her trash and have this material delivered to areas where it will be recycled. This decision impacts not only the environment, but the lives of many people who depend on the residue economy.

Around the world, some 15 million workers make a living from residue collection and treatment. In Brazil, specifically, the ‘Movimento Nacional dos Catadores de Materiais Recicláveis” (or “National Recyclable Material Collectors’ Movement”), estimates that around 800 thousand people depend on residue work to make a living.

Watch our short documentary on the subject and get to know the path residue in large cities usually takes after it’s thrown away.

Conheça o posicionamento da Braskem na íntegra acessando: http://www.braskem.com/economiacircular

Content published in February 21, 2019