Governance tools: Improving the circular economy through the promotion of the economic sustainability of waste picker organizations

Abstract

Waste Picker Organizations are the fundamental link in the integrated management of urban solid waste, and they play a key social, economic, and environmental role. The main activity performed by Waste Picker Organizations is to insert materials in the productive cycle, thereby promoting a circular economy. However, due to the financial dependence on the public sector as the main economic source, and difficulties in self-management, Brazilian organizations do not achieve a competitive position in the recycling market. In this study we aimed to strengthen the Brazilian Waste Picker Organizations as solidarity economy companies throughout the application of corporate governance tools as to provide conditions to make them efficient in the recycling market and in the management of solid urban waste. The methodology was developed in three stages: identification of the Operating Activities of Waste Picker Organizations (Stage 1); hierarchization of the Operating Activities according to criteria that influence market efficiency (Stage 2); and creation of applicable reference models (Stage 3). According to the main results, the development of reference models, the hierarchical order of the Operating Activities, and the modeled processes indicated that the main activities that influence the market efficiency are selective collection, reception of the dry solid recyclable waste, sorting, pressing, baling, and the commercialization of selected waste.