Research in Bauru recyclable cooperatives

Abstract

Waste management is one of the major environmental problems related to social and economic bias worldwide. In Brazil, after the National Solid Waste Plan, cities seek to adapt to the requirements, in which one of them is the insertion of recyclable sorting cooperatives into the integrated solid waste management. This work proposed to analyse the current situation of two cooperatives, COOPECO and COOTRAMAT, of sorting of recyclables at Bauru, São Paulo. The result shows that cooperatives are socially, economically and environmentally relevant, once they provide income to the cooperative members, reduce the cost of buried materials and dispose of properly waste, respectively. Some proposals can be implemented, such as the assignment of the operational management of all existing Eco points in order to manage cooperatives, that will expand this service to the public and optimize Environmental Education; to build a central shed to store dried recyclable materials of these two cooperatives and potentially other partners for direct marketing with the processing industries after sorting and pressing. Other alternatives to be considered are to install equipment in the storehouse, as a plastic extruder, to add value to different types of plastic, such as the production of hoses and conduits; to cease the management of home-by-home selective collection and gradually to allow COOPECO and COOTRAMAT to manage selective collection since this attitude can increase the number and quality of dried recyclables; and to expand discussions with the Municipal Council for the Development of the Environment of Public-Private Partnerships involving the management of solid residues in Bauru, with integrated participation of labor cooperatives.