The first steps in a waste management revolution in Bogotá
27-09-24
In partnership with Copenhagen Municipality, Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, aims to revolutionise its waste management by integrating 25,000 informal recyclers into the formal system and shifting from a linear to a circular model. Danida Fellowship Centre is contributing to this transformation through the Strategic Sector Cooperation between Bogota and Copenhagen.
By Vibeke Quaade
When you walk down any street in Bogotá, it does not take you long to spot them: men and women hunched over trash bins, rummaging for recyclable materials. They collect or sweep up non-organic waste such as cardboard, paper, plastic and glass into oversized plastic bags. Some work in teams, others alone, sorting through piles of recyclables before hauling them onto carts that they manually drag or push down the streets. Their destination? Local informal recycling stations where they exchange their collected waste for a small amount of pesos to get by for another day.
These informal recyclers, known locally as recicladores, play a crucial role in Bogotá’s current waste management system. Around 25,000 of them work across a city of almost 10 million residents, enduring difficult conditions for a modest income of approximately 50,000 pesos, or 10 US dollars, per day. Fortunately, the city acknowledges their importance and has a plan to transform the waste management system to improve their working conditions and livelihoods.
A new vision for waste management
In collaboration with Copenhagen Municipality, through the Strategic Sector Cooperation programme between Bogota and Copenhagen, Bogotá aims to have achieved a number of significant milestones in its waste management overhaul by 2026. The plan focuses on two key objectives: integrating informal recyclers into the formal waste management system and implementing more effective waste management practices. The ultimate goal is to enhance recycling and reuse, significantly reducing the waste sent to the landfill, Doña Juana, just outside the city.
“Our goal over the next three years is to fully integrate the recicladores into a formal system that prioritises the reuse and recycling of both non-organic and organic waste. We aim to reduce at least 20% of the waste currently ending up at Doña Juana,” says Consuelo Ordóñez, CEO of UAESP, Bogotá’s waste management authority.
She adds, “In the long term, we aim for an 80% reduction, but we’re starting with a 20% reduction over the next three years to gain experience and better understand the necessary steps and direction to take.”
Building a collaborative approach
UAESP has issued a public call for all stakeholders in the waste sector—be they recyclers, street sweepers, cleaning services, or providers of transport to Doña Juana—to collaborate on developing a new waste management model. “The goal is to get recyclers and business operators to work together to better utilise waste, including organic waste, particularly from industries like hospitality, gastronomy, and large businesses that generate substantial amounts of organic waste,” explains Ordóñez.
Leveraging Copenhagen’s expertise
Achieving this goal will require substantial coordination and technical expertise. Copenhagen Municipality, renowned for having abolished landfills and for its emphasis on recycling as a central pillar of urban sustainability, is a natural partner for Bogotá.
“It makes perfect sense for Copenhagen and Bogotá to collaborate on making the waste management system more efficient. The aim is to shift from the current linear system, where resources mostly end up in landfills, to a circular model that maximises reuse,” says Mikkel Hall, sector advisor at the Danish Embassy in Colombia.
The cooperation between Bogotá and Copenhagen is extensive, involving close collaboration between the two cities at the technical level. Transforming a waste management system is a major collaborative project, and Copenhagen brings both technical expertise in effective waste handling and experience in managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
“We are impressed by the ambitions put forward by Bogotá and we aim to support the ongoing efforts to divert waste from landfill, increase recycling, integrate informal recyclers into the formal waste management system, and implement more effective waste management practices in any way we can,” says Jonas Åbo Mortensen, senior advisor at the City of Copenhagen.
Professional development and learning
The partnership also includes professional development opportunities through Danida Fellowship Centre’s learning programmes. According to Mikkel Hall, the plan is to have key staff from a broad range of waste management organisations in Bogotá participate in these programmes.
“Danida Fellowship Centre’s learning programmes are crucial within the sector cooperation. They allow participants to develop action plans that address real-world challenges and implement them upon returning to their roles at home. The programmes provide unique insights into the Danish approach while enhancing technical skills,” explains Hall.
Three key individuals from Bogotá, directly involved in the city’s waste management transformation, will attend a Danida Fellowship Centre learning programme on Solid Waste Management and Technologies in October 2024. This training will provide them with Danish waste management techniques that can be adapted for Bogotá. Beyond reducing the city’s environmental impact, it will help integrate the thousands of recicladores who depend on waste collection for their livelihoods into the formal economy, promising improved incomes, better working conditions, and recognition of their essential role in the city’s sustainability efforts.
Meet Sandra and Felipe, two of the participants and follow their journey during the learning programme Solid Waste Management and Technologies 7 – 25 October on Danida Fellowship Centre’s LinkedIn,