RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Throughout the Carnaval holidays, the Ambev brewery, one of Rio’s major Carnaval sponsors, in partnership with the National Association of Collectors of Recyclable Materials (ANCAT) and municipalities, collected the refuse from the main street blocks that paraded joy and beauty, but also left behind plenty of waste on the streets of Rio.
Using the garbage collected from the main street blocks, the company is going to recycle all waste and produce dumpsters with part of it to be installed in the city. The goal, according to the company, is to leave a positive and sustainable legacy to citizens after the festival. The company’s initiative extends to the Carnavals of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador and Recife.
In order to conduct the project in Rio de Janeiro, 121 recyclable material collectors were mobilized to remove the garbage from the major blocks. They were paid a fixed daily wage, in addition to extra compensation for the amount and type of materials collected.
All collection partners were provided with PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), appropriate collection bags, and had hydration support points and restrooms.
All recyclable garbage collected will be routed to one of the 45 collection facilities strategically located in the cities. Materials will be accepted, separated and allocated for recycling in these central facilities.
“We aim to have an increasingly sustainable Carnival and also help raise awareness among revelers. That’s why we decided to join forces with partners to make an unprecedented cleaning action that will collect all kinds of recyclable material: glass, plastic, cardboard, cans, even if they come from competing brands”, says Rodrigo Figueiredo, Vice-President of Sustainability and Supplies at the Ambev Brewery.
“We are planning a structure to ease the work of collectors and ensure that the garbage is removed. Therefore, in addition to the fixed wage, we will ensure the purchase of all materials at a price higher than the sale standard, since we will be closer to the collectors, reducing the number of intermediaries”, says Figueiredo.
According to Ambev, this Carnival’s action comes soon after the company has announced that it will end plastic pollution from its packaging by 2025.
To achieve this goal, the company will take a number of measures and develop innovations in partnership with other companies and universities and, during this Carnival, it takes one more step towards this goal.
“We want to leave a sustainable legacy to society and we understand that each of us has a key role to play in this. It is essential that all revelers remember that every action matters and that together we can build a better world”, comments Figueiredo.