Innovative experience in LAC:

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A study conducted by UNICEF in 1998, demonstrated that living conditions for families whose livelihood depended on informal waste collection in Brazil were dehumanized in areas where around 50.000 children and adolescents live and grow.

In some cases, they represent the third generation making a living with this activity.  30% of them never went to school. In Sao Bernardo do Campo at the core of the Sao Paulo car industry area, thousands of families livelihood depended on the irregular garbage collection. This situation is highly influenced by the fact that in Brazil 90% of municipalities dump waste in the “open sky” fashion - though this reality varies from state to state - causing countless social and health problems in the population.     

To mitigate these problems, the Municipality formulated a strategic plan organizing cooperatives of garbage collectors. The procedure consists in collecting the garbage and placing it in “caçambas” (containers).

Later on, a lorry transports the garbage to the sanitary pit and people of the cooperatives are also responsible for sorting out recyclable material.  

To upgrade the above mentioned modality and formulate a sustainable development municipal policy involving the private sector, the POLIS Institute of Sao Paulo assessed the public-private partnership modalities by answering the following questions:

·  Why would the private sector be attracted in integrating such consortium?
·  How could these participatory actions be integrated to the routine tasks of municipal governments?

A first experiment included industrial and commercial waste from the private business sector of Sao Bernardo. Thus, they shared the social responsibility with municipality and citizens. Local enterprises transported the waste to cooperative’s operated treatment units built on Municipal lands. As an immediate result, for example, the monthly income of these workers experienced a real increase of 22% in just two months.   

As an immediate result, for example, the monthly income of these workers experienced a real increase of 22% in just two months.  Additionally, the plan foresees children education, training for adolescents and adults and public programmes to improve waste management (minimization, recycling, etc.).

The financiall resources for the competitive funding programme are fully donated by IDRC.

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