The recycling programme in Curitiba, Brazil created complementary currencies to reward people for separating organic and non-organic recyclable wastes and bringing them to waste stations. There, the currencies could be exchanged for bus tickets, food, or school books, as the city lacked funds for a standard recycling plant and instead implemented programmes turning waste into a positive by incentivizing separation and collection.

1. Recycling Programme
of Curitiba

2. In Curitiba, Brazil, the city's waste management
did not have a budget for a standard recycling
plant, so it found a way to turn the negative spiral
into a positive one through its programmes lixo
que nao è lixo (garbage that it is not garbage) and
cambio verde (green exchange). The city created
complementary currencies to reward people for
separating their organic and non-organic
recyclable wastes and bringing them to waste
stations, where they can be exchanged for bus
tickets, food, and school-books