In 2020 the program started being implemented on the Maraú peninsula in Bahia, in cooperation with local institutions and the civil society. Vila Circular was built in 2021 with the help of a small fund of the Swiss Embassy in Brazil. In 2023 the Coopertiva de Economia Cirular was instituted to regularize private waste management activities in the nature conservation area APA de Maraú. The composting and recycling centre operates as a model of local circular economy. This pilot project shall be replicated in 9 communities in the district, enabling recycling activities in a decentralized and collective system, avoiding the infiltration of a corrupt and obstructive public management.
To date, the government of Maraú district in Bahia, Brazil hasn’t been able to implement a proper waste management system for its growing population and the booming tourism industry. This is due to the fact that most of the district is situated on a narrow peninsula in a nature reserve, with mangrove ecosystems, on sandy grounds, surrounded by the Camamu bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. This specific geographical and legal situation does not allow the construction of any standard landfill or incineration facility.
The waste collected by the public management is illegally dumped into a sensitive mangrove ecosystem. After 16 years of unmonitored disposal the Camamu Bay is heavily polluted by solid waste and toxic slurry, permanently destroying the local rivers and the regional coastline. The amount of waste being dumped into the nature reserve is estimated 20'000 tons per year.
Cooperativa de Economia Circular is on its way to solving the structural and political problems of waste management on a private bases. 10 recycling and composting plants shall receive increasing amounts of recycling waste and introduce the valuable materials into reverse logistics systems. A broad education program will help businesses, households and hotels implement recycling and composting practices and keep the booming tourist region clean.