O-I partnerships to increase glass recycling in Brazil

O-I has revealed two new partnerships that will increase post-consumer glass recycling, reduce consumer waste, and conserve resources in Brazil.

The manufacturer has partnered with the Recicleiros Institute, a civil society organisation, and Orizon, one of the country’s largest private landfill companies, to increase the amount of cullet in its glass containers.

The partnerships demonstrate the feasibility of glass recycling as an integral part of the circular economy in Brazil.

The exclusive agreement with The Recicleiros Institute will recycle all post-consumer glass packaging processed in the Recicleiros Cidades Programme’s current and future sorting units across Brazil.

O-I expects to recover approximately 3000 tons of glass in the project’s first year.

Alexandre Macário, Manager of the Circular Economy area at O-I, said: “We want to increase glass recycling in regions of the country where it was not yet feasible.

“By promoting the base of the chain and the sale of this material by co-operatives directly to the industry, we encourage the generation of jobs and income, as well as the reduction of the extraction of virgin raw material from the environment, the reduction in energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.”

Orizon operates the Jaboatão dos Guararapes Ecopark in Pernambuco, the largest sorting operation in Latin America.

The company manages 15 Ecoparks in the country, taking care of the waste generated by more than 40 million people in 10 Brazilian states, corresponding to 20% of the population.

In Brazil, long distance logistics and current collection systems are the main barriers to increasing recycled content.

Until recently, almost 60% of glass packaging in Brazil ended up in landfills and dumps due to logistical challenges faced by a lack of collection and processing infrastructure.

The situation is even more complex in small municipalities further from glass recycling locations.