Green Mining pays Brazilians to recycle

In Brazil, Green Mining and the NGO Ecos da Natureza launched the Estação Preço de Fábrica (Factory Price Station) project, which directly buys recyclable materials from collectors, cooperatives, and residents.

Beginning in November 2025, the project aimed to deliver the value industry pays for materials directly to those who collect the waste.

The first station opened in Belém, Pará state, and by October 2026, it had received almost 570 tons of recyclables and distributed approximately R$ 385,000 to nearly 1,000 people. The stations weigh and record all materials before sending them to recycling industries, paying a fixed price per kilo regardless of quantity via Pix on Fridays when the accumulated value exceeds R$ 10.

Rodrigo Oliveira, CEO of Green Mining, explained that this model addresses logistical costs, slow payments, and unequal negotiating power between small collectors and large buyers. Funding comes from corporate sponsorship and Brazil’s Recycling Incentive Law, which allows companies paying the real profit tax to allocate up to 1% of their income tax to approved projects by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

As of late 2021, the Estação Preço de Fábrica operated in five states, processing 8.5 tons of recyclable material and paying over R$ 7 million to over 6,000 people, and Green Mining plans to expand the project across the country with new sponsors.