O-I Brazil leads glass recycling efforts with football stadium partnership

O-I Brazil has unveiled its latest initiative, "Recycle and Make a Goal," aimed at enhancing glass recycling efforts around football matches, leading to waste reduction and decreased emissions in glass production. This collaborative programme has already achieved remarkable success.

Teaming up with São Paulo’s Municipal Department of Urban Cleaning, startup Grupo Seiva, and the "Queen of Recycling" Work Cooperative, O-I Brazil has collected over 8,000 glass bottles for recycling. The project debuted near São Paulo's Morumbi Stadium during a January match between São Paulo FC and Santo André, marking the commencement of the São Paulo Football Championship.

The Seiva Group has strategically placed crushing machines at four collection points near the Morumbi Stadium, simplifying glass disposal for fans. Supporters were encouraged to utilise these collection points, while the Queen of Recycling team facilitated material gathering. All recycled glass, or cullet, has been forwarded to O-I for transformation into new glass packaging.

Looking ahead, O-I intends to extend the project to cities where it operates manufacturing facilities, streamlining project logistics for continued success.

O-I Brazil’s Manager of Circular Economy, Alexandre Macário, said: This is the second initiative of a project focused on cullet collection around the Morumbi Stadium. Despite the heavy rain during the event, we managed to gather more than a ton of glass packaging. We are working to make this project permanent in São Paulo’s stadiums.