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Brazil already leads the world in some recycling categories – but extending that leadership across other materials will depend on the same kind of sorting technology that has driven its success in aluminium.
Brazil's recycling story is, in some respects, a tale of two materials. Aluminium can recycling rates in the country rank among the highest in the world, driven by an informal collection network that has proven remarkably effective. Other materials, particularly plastics, tell a very different story – with recycling rates that lag well behind the country's potential.
Brazil's success with aluminium recycling stems largely from the economic incentives involved – aluminium scrap has consistently high value, which has supported a dense network of informal collectors (catadores) who gather cans for resale. This model has proven highly effective for aluminium specifically, but it doesn't translate directly to materials with lower or less consistent scrap values.
Plastic packaging recovery in Brazil remains far below the country's aluminium recycling rates, despite plastic waste volumes being far larger. Part of the gap comes down to sorting: informal collection networks are less effective at separating mixed plastic waste into the polymer-specific streams that recycling requires, a task that's much better suited to automated sorting technology than manual collection.
Closing the gap between Brazil's aluminium recycling success and its plastic recycling potential will likely depend on investment in the kind of automated, AI-supported sorting technology that's already standard in more mature recycling markets. PICVISA's optical sorting systems, capable of identifying and separating plastics by polymer type, represent exactly this kind of technology – and as Brazil's recycling infrastructure continues to develop, this is the area where cutting-edge sorting technology has the most to offer.
Discover ECOPACK for plastics sortingGet in touch with our team to discover how PICVISA's optical sorting and robotics solutions can fit your recycling operation.