Ocyan removes 50 tons of waste from Guanabara Bay

In partnership with BVRio, the “Clean Bay” project finances fishermen from colonies in Caju and Ilha do Governador to ‘fish’ for waste.

In the week of World Water Day, celebrated on March 22, Ocyan, an oil and gas company, reached the milestone of 50 tons of waste removed from Guanabara Bay through Clean Bay – Baía Limpa -, signed in partnership with BVRio. The project finances fishermen from colonies in Caju and Ilha do Governador to ‘fish’ for waste on two days of the week. In the five months it has been operating, Clean Bay has already removed half the volume expected for the year – 100 tons.

Each collection day, more than a ton of waste is collected and one item in particular stands out: 31 sofas were collected, which arrive via the rivers and canals of Guanabara, many of which are very polluted and silted up.  The task of removing the furniture from the sea requires strength and collective effort from the experienced fishermen, as well as exposing the process of disorganized urban growth in the Metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro.

During the period, small debris and bulky objects were also removed, totaling more than 18 tons of different types of plastic; nine tons of foam; six tons of backpacks, bags and clothes; two tons of glass; one ton of flip-flops, among other materials. Most of the collection takes place in the mangroves, which are home to vital ecosystems for coastal areas, so important for sustaining life in the sea and for being a source of food and income for the local population.

Graph with breakdown by material withdrawn*

*Data up to February 2024

“Clean Bay reflects our commitment to society and our responsibility towards the environment. The project is exceeding the collection target we set at the beginning. At the same time as we celebrate being able to contribute to cleaning up Guanabara Bay, the data reinforces that the amount of waste there is very large and a collective effort to clean it up is essential,” says André Luiz Barros, Ocyan’s Communications, Social Responsibility and Diversity manager, noting that the initiative also represents a social action, as it provides financial incentives for local fishermen.

BVRio records the items collected through the KOLEKT waste management application, and is responsible for dealing with the disposal of waste and providing data on the quantity and identification of waste. In this way, it is possible to monitor everything that is being collected and efficiently certify the recovery of waste with recycling potential. The material collected for content separation is delivered to Ilha do Fundão, in Rio de Janeiro.

The partnership also contributes to artisanal fishing throughout the region, strengthening the fishing community by enabling the regeneration of species through the removal and collection of waste, as well as helping fishermen to stay at sea, their place of work.

Social and Environmental Responsibility

The initiative is part of Ocyan’s Social and Environmental Responsibility platform and the partnership with BVRio is one of the new initiatives that the company envisions for the coming years. “We are formatting projects that involve social, environmental, education and diversity issues. These agendas together have great transformational power,” he said.