Rethinking Recycling has introduced a recycling system in Barrio 31, one of Buenos Aires’ most iconic slums, under the local program name A Todo Reciclaje. Working together with the city government and the local waste cooperatives, McKinsey.org has empowered cooperative workers to educate the community on how to source separate waste, optimize collection, build and operate a sorting plant from scratch, and sell materials to formal processors.

Recycling participation rates have reached 30% – higher than the rest of Buenos Aires, as well as many U.S. cities. Through Rethinking Recycling, McKinsey.org is enabling the recovery and recycling of plastics that would otherwise have ended up in landfills and the environment.