CATAUNIDOS and the Future of Commercialization Networks

So most of my work here so far has been through the CATAUNIDOS network. As I mentioned in an earlier post, CATAUNIDOS is a commercialization network of nine associations and cooperatives in the BH metro area. Officially registered as a cooperative itself, the purpose of CATAUNIDOS is to pool materials collected by the nine organizations in order to sell as a single unit. There are two main benefits to this approach. First, selling on a larger scale means that the catadores have more influence in the market, circumventing small-scale middlemen and selling higher up in the supply chain to receive a better deal for their goods. Second, pooling materials together creates opportunities to add value to the materials. Normally, most organizations of catadores simply collect, sort, press and sell recyclables. But this is only the first step in the recycling industry. By further processing materials into more finished products, catadores add more value to recyclables and greatly increase their role within the market. CATAUNIDOS has pioneered this approach by opening a plastic processing factory in BH. The nine organizations send the PET plastic they collect to the warehouse, where it is further sorted into various types (I still don't fully understand the categories but the level of sorting within the warehouse is extremely specific). The plastic is then processed through machinery that grinds it, washes it, and molds it into small pellets, the basic raw material used in plastic manufacturing. The CATAUNIDOS factory is the only fully catador-operated factory in all of Latin America.

Currently, the industrial unit is closed for remodeling. A new action plan and business model is currently under development with the help of various technical advisors and consultants, including representatives from SEBRAE (Brazilian Support Service for Small Enterprises), UFMG and SERVAS (a social welfare support program). While I am just starting to get involved with this project and do not have intimate knowledge of the details, I do know that one of the principal goals of this remodeling is to find new machinery that will allow CATAUNIDOS to further process its plastics and sell a more refined final product. One idea that has been discussed is plastic roofing, which is extremely durable and more cost-effective than traditional wood roofs. If the factory were able to develop actual consumer goods like this, it would be a significant step forward for the movement of catadores as it would mean no longer selling only raw materials for input to industry but rather creation of actual products for marketing. However, as far as I am aware this remains a long-term goal and not one that is possible any time in the near future.

With the team from INSEA, I am part of a project sponsored by Petrobras (the Brazilian public-private oil company) to strengthen and expand the CATAUNIDOS network. We are trying to improve the functioning of the nine organizations that currently make up the network, add an additional 16 organizations, and create a more efficient business model through the standardization of practices across the groups and improving the functionality of the factory.

One thing thing that I have found striking so far in my work with CATAUNIDOS has been how nebulous the concept of the "commercialization network" is. In our day to day activities, I have noticed that it is never very clear who actually represents CATAUNIDOS, and the catadores themselves do not feel like members of the cooperative. Madalena and Gilberto, two catadores who jointly run the network, are the two clear leaders of the group. But aside from that, the catadores within the associations and cooperatives do not seem to identify with CATAUNIDOS. They view us, the INSEA technicians, as the members of CATAUNIDOS, when really in fact we are supposed to be merely advisers. Especially right now with the factory closed and all sale of products happening within the individual organizations, the only visible aspect of CATAUNIDOS are the technical visits from INSEA and the training workshops we sponsor for the catadores (more on those workshops in a later post). As one of my co-workers recently put it, "many of these catadores barely feel a connection to their individual organization, let alone the more general network of CATAUNIDOS." This quote sums up one of our principal challenges going forward. How do we get the catadores to take greater ownership of this network going forward, and what should our role be in the process?

The future of cooperatives and associations of catadores will depend significantly on the future of these commercialization networks. By themselves, the organizations do not have the scale, capital or technical expertise to become dynamic, commercially-viable enterprises. Networks can potentially help to overcome these weaknesses, especially by building processing centers for materials such as plastics, e-waste, or even organic materials for composting or biogas. INSEA is focusing now on this concept of networks, or "redes," throughout the state of Minas - there are currently five such projects in the works. Ultimately, though, I think it will be up to CATAUNIDOS to set the example across the state, and even the country. (However, there is one other large-scale network project in Brazil, the CATASAMPA group in São Paulo.) The lessons we learn from the Petrobras project will be key in helping to understand the challenges and opportunities of this movement going forward.

We are currently working both on revamping the INSEA website and creating a CATAUNIDOS site as well. I will be providing English translations. As soon as those are both up I will post the addresses here for everyone to check out!

Display of various PET pellets from the CATAUNIDOS factory