A bold new initiative aims to put Recife at the heart of Brazil’s fight against waste and plastic pollution, it was announced today. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is partnering with the City of Recife, supported by Clean Rivers and members of the Foundation’s business Network, including Mars Inc., Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever, to explore the feasibility of a new approach to developing collection and recycling systems for packaging – one they hope could inform national policy and become a model for similar cities.
At a launch event in Recife 1 July 2026, Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and the City of Recife will sign formal agreements with the Foundation in support of the project. Over the next six months, the Foundation and municipality will work with local stakeholders to develop a detailed plan for the city. If successful, the ambition is to unlock up to R$300 million in multi-year investment and begin implementation work in Recife as early as 2027.
The collaboration builds on the findings set out in Closing the Loop: Transforming urban waste systems and protecting Brazil’s rivers, a report published 1 July 2026 by the Foundation and Clean Rivers, based on input from more than 80 organisations, including policymakers, waste picker representatives, businesses, academics, NGOs, and funders.
Luisa Santiago, Latin America Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, says: “Brazil has the ingredients for transforming how it manages collection and recycling, including strong policy foundations, political will, and a sophisticated network of nearly a million waste pickers who are the powerhouse of the country’s recycling system. "The financing gap for collection and recycling to scale is a systemic barrier to building a circular economy for packaging, alongside material innovation and reuse. We are excited to work with Recife to pioneer a new model for how cities and stakeholders collaborate to close that gap, with the hope that cities and policymakers across Brazil can draw on what we learn here.” Deborah Backus, CEO of Clean Rivers, says: “Every year, millions of tonnes of waste leak into the world's waterways and the ocean. Strengthening waste systems reduces leakage, protecting these freshwater ecosystems and the communities who depend on them. Recife is the right place for this collaboration, as a city defined by its vast network of waterways that drain into the South Atlantic.
“This partnership is unique as a multi-stakeholder effort to address waste leakage and pollution. By deploying philanthropic funding, we aim to attract and unlock the broader investment needed to build this model in Recife and create a blueprint for cities across Brazil and beyond.” Jean-Luc Negrier, Head of Packaging Sustainability at Nestlé, adds: “Advancing plastic collection and recycling is one of the priorities of Nestlé and we are glad to work together with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to develop a common baseline and shared vision for system transformation in Brazil. “It offers a valuable opportunity to test and learn from a local model that could inform packaging circularity approaches in other geographies. We see strong value in working alongside industry peers and broader stakeholders to build shared learning, demonstrate scalable solutions, and support systemic change.” David Allen, Vice President Sustainable Packaging, Global Sustainability Office, PepsiCo, says: “Each stakeholder across the value chain has a role to play to help bring about the systemic transformation required to improve recycling infrastructure and reduce waste. We support efforts that bring together business, civil society, and governments to advance practical, scalable recycling solutions.”
Recife is chosen as the potential starting point for this project because its challenges and foundations reflect those of many other cities across Brazil. The longer-term ambition is to build a model that could inform national policy and demonstrate how collection and recycling could work efficiently and equitably at scale in Brazilian cities by 2040. Home to 1.6 million people and a network of rivers, bridges, and waterways, Recife stands to see visible benefits. While the city has a track record of progress – growing plastics recycling by 16.6% in 2024, more than double the national average – significant challenges remain. Just 1% of households in Recife have access to formal recycling collection.
Addressing this at scale requires a fundamentally new approach to sustainable financing from a broad range of stakeholders. Recife Mayor, Victor Marques, says: “Recife has stood out in recent years in strengthening policies aimed at solid waste management – whether in collection, disposal, or, most notably, in promoting assistance, training, and support for the workers who operate within this chain. “This project, together with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will help us advance even further along this path, not only in the pursuit of a cleaner and more sustainable city, but beyond that, in the human dimension and social development. This is a partnership that promises great results for the population as a whole, and especially for those most in need.”
Brazil, which holds 12% of the planet's freshwater, is one of the world's five biggest generators of municipal waste. Despite collection covering at least 92.4% of the population, more than a quarter of urban solid waste still ends up inadequately disposed of. This results in an estimated 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste being mismanaged each year, much of it washing into drains and rivers and the ecosystems millions depend on. And while over a third of municipal waste is recyclable – such as plastics, glass and paper – less than 9% actually gets recycled. The Closing the Loop report shows that a better urban waste system in Brazil could recover BRL 14 billion in recyclable value currently lost to landfill. It also highlights that around 9,300 jobs could be created across collection, sorting and materials processing, with plastics recycling supply chains generating around 64,000 more by 2030.
Brazil's 800,000 waste pickers recover up to 90% of all recyclable materials in the country, yet most work without fair pay or safe conditions. The report calls for formal recognition, compensation for the services they provide – not just the materials they handle – and a formal role in how cities manage collection and recycling, building on a principle already in the national policy. The Foundation's 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business identified developing collection and recycling infrastructure as a key systemic barrier to scaling a circular economy.
For further information, please visit www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org