Brasília Sustainability: Waste Management & Recycling
Discover how Florianópolis, Brazil, leads the charge in enduring waste management and recycling. This vibrant city prioritizes recycling programs, demonstrating a strong commitment to environmental stewardship, and successfully integrates immigrant workers into its recycling workforce. The city boldly addresses waste incineration debates while championing innovative solutions focused on reducing landfill waste. With approximately 40% of the recycling workforce comprised of immigrants, Florianópolis showcases a unique synergy of social and ecological progress. Through education and technology, they are actively working toward further improvements in their primary_keyword and secondary_keyword initiatives. News Directory 3 brings you this insightful look at Florianópolis’s dedication to the environment. Find out what steps are being taken to further these efforts. Discover what’s next …
Florianópolis, Brazil, puts Value on Sustainable Waste Management
Updated June 26, 2025
Florianópolis, regarded as Brazil’s most sustainable capital, is at the forefront of innovative waste management. The city emphasizes recycling, integrates immigrant workers, and navigates debates over incineration.
Recyclable Material, contracted by Comcap, handles waste separation for recycling industries.Volmir dos Santos, the association’s president, noted that about 40% of its 75 members are immigrants, primarily from Venezuela, Peru, Haiti, and Colombia.
Founded in 1999 by street waste collectors, the group evolved with municipal management and selective collection from residences, industries, and businesses. They became ‘triadores‘-separating,classifying,and selling recyclable waste.
“We suffered prejudice, discrimination and shame, now we gain respect,” Dos Santos saeid.
The broad recycling movement, involving various associations and cooperatives, seeks to influence municipal plans. It opposes incinerating non-recyclable waste for energy, a growing trend in industrial countries.
Yuri Schmitke, president of the Brazilian Association of Energy from Waste (Abren), said there are at least 3,035 waste combustion plants globally. He argues that waste-to-energy plants can achieve ‘zero waste’ by eliminating landfills, as incineration replaces fossil fuels for energy.
Dorival Rodrigues dos Santos, president of the Federation of Associations and Cooperatives of Waste Pickers of Santa Catarina, countered that incineration ends the recycling cycle. He advocates for a broad debate on the subject, as this alternative gains traction in Brazil. The municipality of Joinville plans to install a waste-to-energy plant.
Florianópolis is considering sending non-recyclable waste to the cement industry for use as fuel, according to De Souza, the city’s director of solid waste.
Karolina Zimmermann, an engineer working with waste collectors, said, “We defend the primacy of recycling over incineration. The goal is to improve recycling; we have not exhausted the advances.”
Progress in recycling depends on new technologies and consumer environmental education to improve waste separation.
Aparecida Napoleão spearheads waste separation in her building,organizing a system for various materials. She guides her neighbors, emphasizing the importance of proper separation.
“It’s a lot of work, you have to be patient, explain, ask repeatedly until they understand the importance of separation,” she said.
What’s next
Florianópolis aims to further improve its sustainable waste management through continued education,technological advancements,and ongoing discussions about the role of incineration versus recycling.