Waste Management and the Circular Economy

Waste Management and the Circular Economy

Transparently and sustainably increasing the value of waste in support of the circular economy.

our work in this sector

Waste generation has increased massively around the world in recent decades, and there are no signs of it slowing down. By 2050, worldwide municipal solid waste generation is expected to have increased by roughly 70 percent to 3.4 billion metric tons.

What happens to this waste varies greatly from country to country, but we know that the rates of collection, recycling and landfill disposal are very low in developing countries.

However, we also know that there are millions of informal waste workers in the world, many of whom remove waste from the environment and sell it to recycling services to provide themselves for a small income.

BVRio creates market mechanisms which deliver social benefit for informal waste workers, while also addressing the global problem of a take–make-dispose linear economy.

Products and Services

We seek to create market mechanisms to increase economic efficiency and address market failures, and to support the use of market-based approaches to create liquidity to the mechanisms created.

Circular Action HUb

The home of BVRio global waste footprint solutions, The Hub incorporates a directory of local waste management projects and activities looking for support to fund, accelerate and strengthen a more effective and socially-responsible circular economy.

Circular Credits Mechanism

Our market tool to facilitate performance-based payments for the environmental services of collection (recovery), sorting and appropriate destination of recyclable waste materials.

KOLEKT APP

The world’s only multi country, multi-material solid waste trading app. The app is free to download, easy to use and most importantly, rewards waste collectors directly.

Supporting Waste Picker Cooperatives

We work with waste picker cooperatives to help them develop and expand their operations, access funding, and to take advantage of new waste legislation and technologies.

Circular Action Programmes (CAPS)

CAPs offer consumer goods companies a way to meet emerging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations in developing countries through the collection and sorting of waste by the informal sector.

OPNRS

The Solid Waste Policy Observatory (OPNRS), is a multi-stakeholder information initiative to oversee implementation of the Brazilian Solid Waste Legislation.

Impact

Our vision is to deliver positive impacts for the economy, environment and people through the work that we do.

120+ waste recovery projects enrolled in our Circular Action Hub in 40+ countries

Projects have the potential to recover over 500,000 tonnes/year of plastic waste from the environment

5,000+ individual waste pickers provided with an additional income

Multiple types of solid waste recycling supported including plastic, paper, metals, cartons, textiles

Current Initiatives

Expanding impact in Rio de Janeiro Waste Cooperatives

The project encourages higher levels of recycling in the city through collaboration with nine waste cooperatives using the KOLEKT waste app, involving more than 300 informal waste workers.

Supporting ‘cooperate to recycle’ in Rio de Janeiro

Over the next three years, BVRio will support the waste cooperative, ‘Coopama’, to implement an investment of $4 million Brazilian Reais to collect and sort recyclable solid waste from multiple facilities owned by the project’s funder. The overarching objective is to further develop the cooperative’s operations, raising their profile and financially benefiting its workers.

Fishing for Litter

Providing social and environmental benefit, the ‘fishing for litter’ initiative funds fishing communities to remove waste from fishing grounds and coastlines using cutting-edge technology mixed with traditional methods. The catch is registered and monitored through BVRio’s KOLEKT app.

PREVIOUS INITIATIVES IN THIS AREA

Since 2012 BVRio has developed market mechanisms, products and initiatives in this area, contributed to public policy and been a advocate and delivery partner to others.