Real Change, At Scale
On a mission to redesign human systems for the
good of people and the planet
Who We Are
At Delterra, we transform systems by designing and implementing scalable solutions that advance a circular economy and enhance both environmental and social outcomes.
What We Do
Rethinking material circularity
• by partnering with cities to build scalable, self-sustaining systems for waste management and recycling, keeping materials in the economy and out of the environment.
• by collaborating with companies to unlock processing capacity and demand while making value chains more efficient, transparent and ethical.
How We Think
As an independent environmental NGO originating out of McKinsey & Company, we combine a distinctive problem-solving approach with our purpose-driven mission: to redesign human systems for the good of people and the planet.
Delterra's Rethinking Recycling Program
By the Numbers
At Delterra, we measure our progress and ambition against our core success metric: environmental impact. These numbers highlight our ability and ambition to deliver system-wide change on large-scale environmental problems while improving people’s lives.
To date/near term:
Where We Work
Indonesia
Program details
Argentina
Program details
Waste Warriors
Juan (left) and Adrian (right) are relatives from Olavarría and have been working in waste since they were 14 and 12 years old, along with their fathers and brothers. Growing up and into their adulthood, Juan and Adrian would go to the landfill every day unless weather conditions prevented them from working. However, like so many workers all over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic upended their ability to visit the landfill and sort through waste. Due to restrictions at the landfill, fewer people were allowed to work at a time, and Juan and Adrian could no longer perform the work that their families depended on.
Thankfully, Juan and Adrian were able to find work with Rethinking Recycling’s GIRO recycling and composting plants in Olavarría. At the GIRO recycling plant, Juan and Adrian are able to work in a cleaner environment and receive formal, regular payments for their work.
Now they are in their 30s with young families of their own, Juan and Adrian have a deeper appreciation for the work they have been doing since they were in their early teens. Both men hope that the city will continue to increase its understanding of recycling and how proper recycling practices can improve living conditions for countless Argentinians.
“It is the job that we have been doing all our lives, but in a more orderly way, in a good work environment.”
Ximena has been working with our Buenos Aires “A Todo Reciclaje” (ATR) program for over three years and says her “most beautiful” experience with the program has been talking with her neighbors about recycling. Prior to the ATR program, a lot of Ximena’s neighbors did not know how to separate their waste into three categories (organics, recyclables and mixed waste) at home, and how much usable waste they were throwing away.
Today, Ximena talks about recycling everywhere she goes–whether it is with her children at home or when she is volunteering at youth activities. As the program continues to grow, Ximena hopes the Barrio will continue to see improvements from recycling and more interest in waste work.
“There were a lot of people that wanted to work in [waste] and now they have the right platform to do it.”
Lucia is a devoted grandmother who has been working in waste for over nine years, three with our Buenos Aires “A Todo Reciclaje” (ATR) program. Prior to the ATR program, Lucia only had one task: sweeping up the streets. Once the ATR program was implemented, Lucia was able to have more interaction with her neighbors about recycling and each team member rotated tasks every week-providing Lucia with more hands-on opportunities to get involved and learn more about recycling.
Lucia now earns extra income from her waste work, which is especially helpful given the financial challenges many families have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Any extra income is a help,” Lucia shares.
“We did not have direct interaction with neighbors so they did not know the way we worked and, as a result, waste collection and sweeping was total chaos.”
A three-year veteran of our Buenos Aires “A Todo Reciclaje” (ATR) program, Yrma admits she’s become a bit obsessed about recycling. Working in waste since 2015, Yrma has seen first-hand how the ATR program made the neighborhood much cleaner and streamlined the work for her and her colleagues.
Outside of recycling and her work with the ATR program, Yrma operates her own laundry and plans for the future of her small business.
“Every recyclable material that I see lying on the street I want to collect and recycle!”
Pak Siswoyo started out as a farmer in the small village of Desa Kenkong, but later moved to Bali with the hope he would find a different future for himself. However, when a career in tourism did not materialize, Pak Siswoyo found work as a waste picker – an informal position where he would sort through discarded plastic for an income.
Through the Desa Kedas program, started by the Rethinking Recycling initiative, Pak Siswoyo was able to transition from an informal position to a formal position with better pay.
Pak Siswoyo’s wife, Bu Siti, was working as a domestic helper when she decided to join her husband at TPS3R Sekar Tanjung recycling center. Today, the couple works side-by-side and are both considered ‘irreplaceable’ by their team members.
“Now, we are proud garbage men.”
Pak Siswoyo’s wife, Bu Siti, was working as a domestic helper when she decided to join her husband at TPS3R Sekar Tanjung recycling center. Today, the couple works side-by-side and are both considered ‘irreplaceable’ by their team members.
Through the Rethinking Recycling initiative, the entire village has united to champion the recycling program, with Pak Sis and his waste worker colleagues encouraging a new era of families to separate waste at source and divert it from landfill.
When they are not working together at the recycling center, Pak Siswoyo and Bu Siti enjoy farming and have planted different herbs at TPS3R Sekar Tanjung.
“No matter what problems we face, Rethinking Recycling works with us to find a solution.”
Pak Kolok was born and raised in the Kesiman Kertalangu village where the Rethinking Recycling program currently operates. He found work in waste as a sweeper in 2005 and became a waste collector/driver in 2010.
Pak Kolok is passionate about his work and will often physically demonstrate how to properly sort through waste for households, given his speech and communication disability. His belief and his persistence in recycling education makes him a highly-valued member of his team.
“We all live on the same Earth. Our waste can destroy the ecosystem and, therefore, we should be responsible for it. Let’s have a more beautiful and comfortable world to live in together.
Partners
The Circulate Initiative is a non-profit organization committed to solving the ocean plastic pollution challenge by supporting the incubation of circular, inclusive and investible waste management and recycling systems and generating insights that accelerate investment and scale.
Bintix Waste Research is a Hyderabad, India-based company and works in the field of waste management and recycling. Bintix believes that the optimal use of technology-driven operations optimisation is a key towards making waste management a more sustainable endeavour, both at the generator level (e.g. households) and at the processor-level (e.g. waste management entities). Bintix’s existing software has been field tested for nearly 2 years now and has been fine-tuned extensively across a customer base consisting of 5000+ customers in several cities/regions and has helped meticulously track and recycle>200 MT of waste into more than 30 streams.
Olavarría is located in the center of the Province of Buenos Aires and was founded on November 25, 1867. It has numerous green spaces and a large park that borders the Tapalqué Stream. Due to its strategic position, it has a great influence that has favored its growth. There is a balance between the harmony of a town and the hustle and bustle of a big city, generating an ideal environment to rest and/or to be able to choose to enjoy several activities to do and to feel new experiences in the free times. That is why the management of the environment and the improvement in the quality of life of its population is a strategic issue for the city.
Rethinking Recycling Academy’s (organization’s) work on the ground has really inspired us to look at an integrated recycling solution for Bali that empowers the community to solve their waste management challenges. Not only does it impact the environment, the work also enables change for the waste workers and the ecosystem. We look forward to continue learning and working with you.
Rethinking Recycling and The Circulate Capital have been Knowledge Partners since 2018. What is unique about the Rethinking Recycling program is the full system approach coupled with on-the-ground impact and learning. I haven’t seen many organizations willing and able to deliver on both the ‘big picture thinking’ and the ‘roll up your sleeves and make it happen’ capabilities.
Delterra brings a unique and structured approach to addressing a critical problem in many parts of the world. By working together with communities, they are developing and testing solutions to scale up recycling, prevent waste, and protect our environment. Their work is creating new opportunities for workers and communities, and helping companies like Amcor understand the opportunities for packaging in the recycling marketplace.
Five years ago we embarked, as part of the City of Buenos Aires Government, on the Barrio Mugica integration project, an historic transformation of one the City’s most emblematic informal settlements. Although hard infrastructure issues were the most pressing ones, we strongly believed that inclusive, collaborative projects focused on sustainability also had their place.
Rethinking Recycling’s Barrio Mugica project is one of these highly successful initiatives. It partnered with City staff and 13 local labor cooperatives to provide the residents with door-to-door waste collection and recycling services: a win-win for everyone. Cooperatives now benefit from the income generated by the sale of recyclables and local residents are increasingly proud of their improved surroundings.