The site now includes a triage centre and an industrial solid waste landfill located in 12 hectares of land.

Commenting on the project’s expansion, managing secretary of the Union, Fábio Ruppenthal, explained, “At the moment, 68% of the waste is recycled. The rest is sent to the landfill where it is disposed of in closed special ditches built according to Brazilian official standards. Each type of waste is buried in a dedicated ditch and the whole process is carried out according to the most stringent environmental control methods available.”   

Having enjoyed such success, the project has now expanded into the local community and now organises several community projects including offering environmental education to children, handicraft lessons using recyclable materials for adults, and protecting endangered wild animals. The project is even awaiting a licence from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) to set up a wild animal preservation centre near the existing landfill. The project also donates organic vegetables to local hospitals, nurseries and schools which are grown in an orchard near the waste recycling plant.

The project is also now encouraging the local population to separate their domestic waste into recyclable and non-recyclable items which, in 2005, generated R$12,000 (approximately $6,000) that was donated to 13 district schools.

110 factories are located in the shoe manufacturing cluster of Três Coroas which generate several tons of solid waste per month. 

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