more on: http://www.light.com.br/light-recicla.asp

LIGHT RECICLA: Gathering people from favelas in an effort for paying bills and helping the Planet

Main partners:Light, 3E Engenharia, Doe Seu Lixo

Rio de Janeiro - Brasil

Key words: recycling, light bill, favela

Context: Several favelas in Rio de Janeiro have been occupied by police (pacified) in a effort to reduce violence in these locations. As a consequence, the supply of light in favelas were regularized and residents now have to pay the bill each month in order to have legal access to this service, increasing their cost of living.

Case: the case seeks to reduce the electric bill of consumers through the exchange of recyclable garbage for discounts. Consumers have an active role, they must collect, separate, wash the recyclables and take them to the collection point.

Collaborative value: the electricity company consider the electricity provision as a relational issue. Its strategy is to consolidate a new collaborative relationship with residents in the pacified favelas, far from the exclusive application of punitive models for electricity theft and/or adoption of new technologies and procedures to measure and control electricity consumption

Design role: create a connection between companies allowing the operation of the project, create the points where consumers can bring the recyclable material, create the system that records the weight of the material and the discount obtained, communicate the idea, explain to users their role in the project