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With about 85,000 tons of waste generated every day, Mexico is the 10th largest garbage producer in the world. At the same time, tens of thousands of scavengers, including children, are making a living by collecting saleable items from open-air dumps in very poor, informal conditions.

From this challenging situation, the founders of PETSTAR saw an opportunity: the opportunity to add value to the plastic collected and close the value chain of recycling by making a link between the scavengers and the bottling industry through the construction of the first bottle-to-bottle recycling facility with this sophisticated technology in Latin America. This innovative project will improve the scavengers’ working conditions – including reintegrating them into the formal economy –, reduce child labour, and increase the population’s awareness about the importance of recycling, while at the same time generating a profit for the company through the sale of the recycled material.