Curitiba, a Brazilian city of almost two million citizens and receiver of the 2010 Global Sustainable City Award, has become well-known as an innovative and sustainable city. Without a budget for a standard recycling plant, the city started the ‘Lixo que nao è Lixo; (garbage that it is not garbage) and ‘Cambio Verde’ (green exchange) programs. Both dealing with waste management. ‘Lixo que nao e Lixo’ is the program by means of which the city established complementary currencies to reward people for separating their organic and non-organic recyclable wastes and bringing them to waste stations, where they can be exchanged for public transport tickets, food, and school-books. ‘Cambio Verde’ is the program that incorporates locally grown, organic, healthy foods into this recycling program. Recycling citizens receive these foods in exchange for their recyclable waste or can buy them at 30% cheaper prices than in regular stores.

• Inclusiveness through Citizen Participation
• Innovative model of waste management