By Manami Nakayama, Estrella Peinado and Edgar Parra

To promote the development of the circular economy in Colombia, IDB Lab will finance a project to enhance the processing of engineering plastics. The project seeks to increase the recovery and recycling of materials by implementing more efficient and automated infrastructure and technology, which will also contribute to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The project will be executed by GAIA Vitare S.A.S. (GAIA), a Colombian company that, since 2004, has been committed to environmental protection and sustainable waste management. GAIA has a recycling plant in Bogotá, Colombia, which will be expanded through an investment in infrastructure, machinery and cutting-edge technology. To this end, IDB Lab has approved a $3.2 million loan, through its Social Entrepreneurship Program (SEP), which supports business models that generate social and environmental impact in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The project is expected to expand the capacity of the recycling plant and automate the plastics recycling process. This initiative will contribute to the mitigation of 18,800 tons of CO2eq. In addition, it will seek to integrate waste pickers as suppliers of electronic and electrical waste to the Company’s supply chain, supporting together the transition to a circular economy.