BVRio convenes round table event at UN’s Global Plastic Treaty talks to unlock finance for inclusive waste recovery initiatives
Geneva, 4 August 2025 — As negotiators gather for what is expected to be the final round of the UN’s global plastics treaty talks, BVRio hosted an interactive roundtable to tackle a persistent structural challenge: the disconnect between international finance and the community-led waste recovery initiatives that are essential to addressing plastic pollution. The event […]
Brazilian Ministry praises ‘Fishing for Litter’ as a standout for integrating marine conservation and social inclusion
BVRio’s ‘Fishing for Litter’ programme, developed in partnership with artisanal fishing communities in Guanabara Bay, recently welcomed Larissa Godoy, the national coordinator of the TerraMar Project, an initiative led by Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA). Coordinated by the Department of Oceans and Coastal Management at the MMA, in partnership with GIZ […]
EPR Focus: 21 critical decision points governments must address to optimise EPR regulations
The global spotlight on national waste legislation is intensifying, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) stands at the forefront. EPR offers a compelling solution for financing sustainable waste management, embodying the ‘polluter pays’ principle. Simply put, EPR mandates that producers, importers, and brands take responsibility for the lifecycle of their products, either by directly managing waste […]
KOLEKT in demand for EPR legislation development
Fresh from discussions with the South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme member countries about financing options for addressing plastic pollution, Kolekt Founder, Thierry Sanders, met with the Kolekt app development team in India last week to discuss future developments that will both improve user experience, but also further develop the architecture for a suite of EPR […]
BVRio delivers training on innovative financing options for addressing plastic pollution in South Asia
This week, the BVRio team delivered a regional training programme on innovative financing options for addressing plastic pollution in the South Asia region. Ministries of the seven nations attended, all keen to know more about Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), plastic credits, and the new Plastic pollution linked bond of the World Bank. Organised by South Asia Co-operative Environment […]
Plastic Collective chooses KOLEKT for monitoring and traceability of waste transactions
The Plastic Collective, a leading social enterprise focused on solving the plastic waste epidemic, will start using the KOLEKT waste management app to monitor all its plastics purchasing and processing transactions. Developed by BVRio Group company Kolekt, the mobile solution will be used at Plastic Collective partner locations in Ghana and Indonesia. The plastic collection […]
Enhanced logistics for recycling cooperatives with new trucks and digital tracking of waste flow
Two of the nine waste cooperatives that BVRio is supporting in service improvements have started to receive critical logistics upgrades, including new collection trucks and equipment, and training to digitise waste flow. Since the beginning of this project phase in August 2024, BVRio has conducted technical visits to all cooperatives involved to assess their needs […]
Fishers establish the first marine and ocean waste collectors’ cooperative in Brazil
Conceived and led by artisanal fishers from Guanabara Bay, in Rio de Janeiro, in November 2024, Brazil’s first Cooperative of Waste Collectors and Marine Protection Workers (COOP PROMAR) was established. The cooperative is an outcome of the ‘Fishing for Litter’ programme, created by BVRio, active since 2021, to empower local fishing communities to combat pollution […]
Capacity building project expands its impact to benefit nine waste cooperatives in Rio and recycle five tonnes of plastic waste
A new phase of BVRio’s capacity building project is underway in Rio de Janeiro involving nine waste cooperatives, eight more than the successful first phase implemented between 2022-23. Now the project is expanding its scope to benefit more waste pickers, who are responsible for over 90% of recycling in Brazil, with the target to collect […]
Cooperate to Recycle: Project’s YEAR 1 IMPACT
Since its launch in October 2023, the ‘Cooperate to Recycle’ project, developed by the Friends of the Environment Popular Cooperative (Coopama) with technical support from BVRio, and funded by Brazilian oil company Petrobras, has achieved key milestones. Over the past year, Coopama has collected 3,000 tonnes of recyclable materials, averaging 240 tonnes per month, benefiting both […]