Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010
IPS reported that for the last 9 years Brazil has led the world in recycling aluminium cans, of which it reuses 96.5% and it now has a strong chance of reaching the 100% mark.

This is the assessment of Mr Henio de Nicola recycling coordinator for the Brazilian Aluminium Association. Mr Nicola said that that success is due to a fantastic team of people, who have thought about the recycling process ever since the cans first arrived in Brazil in 1989.

In an analogy with football, the expert described how first of all the defence was set up in the shape of a well structured processing chain, independent of any government subsidy, where all the participants are rewarded by the added value of the aluminium itself.

Secondly, there is a mid field of social programs for environmental education, aimed at the general public. And lastly, the strikers more than 180,000 Brazilians who collect cans daily all over the country.

Mr Josias a good attacker on this team, is one of the collectors who works in the centre of Rio de Janeiro. He plunges his hands into every garbage container on his daily round, stoops to pick up empty cans from the street and knows reliable bartenders and restaurant owners who save their empties for him.

Mr Josias said that the cans are my daily bread, they pay my bills and support my family. He collects 15 kilograms of aluminium cans a day, and sells them to the collection centre downtown for about BRR 30.

The recycled cans provide a livelihood for more than 180,000 families, as well as business for the owners of the collecting and storage centers. Every day, over 300 people come to Mr Armando da Costa's storage warehouse in central Rio de Janeiro, to deliver about 500 kilos of aluminium containers, especially beverage cans.

Mr Da Costa said that my warehouse business has helped me raise my kids and support them through university. This is made possible by the healthy added value on recycled aluminium, which makes all parts of the process profitable. From the storage facilities, the cans are transported by truck to large industrial complexes, creating jobs and incomes for drivers.

According to purchaser Mr Osmar Marchioni, who works for another company in Pindamonhangaba, recycled aluminium has 3 major factors in its favor.

He said that "If I use virgin aluminium, I have to add on extra costs, such as 95 percent more for electricity, and the cost of mining bauxite, the mineral that contains aluminium. Furthermore, the recycled aluminium economy benefits all the people involved."