Why has recycling not scaled in Latin America and what can be done?

The year 2025 marks 20 years since UNESCO established 17 May as World Recycling Day to promote this practice and protect the environment. Since then, the world has changed drastically. It has become increasingly connected, with ubiquitous artificial intelligence and new geopolitical realities. Not to mention, the whole world lived through a global pandemic.

Unfortunately, what hasn’t changed are the recycling rates in Latin America and the Caribbean, which, on average, remain close to 4%. This low figure stands in contrast to the European experience, where municipal recycling increased from a rate of 33% to 49% in the same period.

Multiple reasons could explain this difference. Latin America and the Caribbean have more limited recycling infrastructure than in Europe – circular economy public policies in the region are incipient, and the informal economy is still predominant.

It is estimated that informal grassroots recyclers are responsible for up to 50% of the material recovered in the region. Perhaps because of this, today, one out of three tons of municipal solid waste generated in South America is not even collected and the amount generated is expected to almost double in the next 20 years.

This means that even if we increase our recycling to the European rates of previous decades, more waste will reach our landfills and probably, ecosystems by 2050. So, what can we do to leapfrog?

To accelerate the transition, people must demand better recycling, especially through their purchasing decisions. Unfortunately, over the last few years we have seen a decline in people’s willingness to pay for sustainable products, in Europe and Latin America (e.g. Chile). People have reverted to seeing sustainability as something distant and associated with great causes.

That’s why we must put the concept of sustainability in people’s daily lives and make explicit its relationship with their present and future wellbeing. Communication campaigns are key for this and we already have examples of how to do it well.

Recycling Now is one of the oldest systematic campaigns on recycling. Born in 2004 by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in the United Kingdom, its purpose is to normalize recycling. Since then, the number of people in the United Kingdom who describe themselves as committed recyclers has increased by 50%. But what has made it so successful?

First, it has chosen to segment the audience. Not everyone has the same motivation, so determining who you want to mobilize is key to conveying a unique and accurate message. Second, Recycle Now’s campaigns are novel.

For example, characters depicting everyday and thrown away items are used on packaging and last year, these characters marched to deliver a letter to the Prime Minister demanding to be rescued from the trash.

Third, they measure impact and continually improve. To do this, WRAP has created a “Recycling Tracking Survey” that allows them to know the impact of their campaign and design the next ones.

To scale recycling in the region, there must be investment in infrastructure, technology and processes. However, it is not enough to follow the footsteps of the global north, as the region of Latin America and the Caribbean has unique socio-cultural conditions that must be considered for recycling solutions to work.

The good news is that we already have entrepreneurs demonstrating that, with financing, it is possible to leapfrog in recycling rates.

Ecolana created the largest digital map of recycling points in Mexico. The platform allows you to identify the exact location of the site, opening hours, the type of material or product they receive, and whether you get an additional benefit from recycling there (e.g. a coupon or discount at a store).

What made the project different was that Ecolana can monitor people’s consumption patterns through low-cost technology, allowing anyone with a cell phone to scan a container and quickly identify its nearest recycling point.

DETRASH invented a transparent payment system through blockchain that offers an auditable and public certificate, including grassroots recyclers in Brazil. This innovation addresses one of the main challenges facing the recycling chain in the region – formalization of the work of grassroots recyclers.

This is not a minor issue considering their impact on the recycling chain and the difficulty of their enrollment in cooperatives. Although the platform is still in the testing phase, there has been buzz around its innovative way of involving grassroots recyclers in formal recycling.

Idea-tec has developed a globally unique paint based on recycled expanded polystyrene. The idea was born to prevent this material from reaching landfills and the ocean but today it is also a tool to reduce the carbon footprint of many companies.

In 2023, the technology was patented in Europe, which has allowed them to think about new markets and demonstrate that, with the right support, it is possible to develop and export technology from Latin America to the world.