Construction of the bases for the Urban Waste Management cluster in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2012.

The project to boost the Urban Solid Waste Management (GRSU) cluster in Belo Horizonte was built progressively through two contracts, the first directly with SEBRAE-MG and the second with the Voluntary Social Assistance Service (SERVAS) Minas Gerais , with an agreement with SEBRAE-MG.

In the first contract with SEBRAE-MG, some activities were carried out to understand the local reality of GRSU in Minas Gerais, and the study of European models, and thus the different models to follow or strategic options were defined.

International references were analyzed (Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, France, United Kingdom), options were discussed and, finally, a reference trip to Catalonia (Spain) was organized.

The objective of the trip was to delve deeper into the Catalan MSRM model, its best practices and technologies, and bring Minas Gerais institutions and companies closer to Catalonia. The mission was attended by SEBRAE, senior representatives of the Government of Minas Gerais (Secretary of the Environment and Under-Secretary of Economic Development), and a representative of the Minas Gerais Waste Reference Center (CMRR), allowing the main lines of action to be drawn up to promote Minas Gerais MSW Industry:

• Acquisition of knowledge and skills by the Environment Secretariat.
• Industry regulation
• Organization of the production chain in Minas Gerais
• Attraction of specialized consulting and engineering companies
• Organization of informal collectors in associations.

The second contract was carried out to advance the action plan for the establishment of the cluster. In this second contract, services were provided to bring a delegation of representatives from companies and institutions from Catalonia, Spain and the European Union to GRSU to share experiences during the XI Festival Lixo e Cidadania and sign a technical cooperation agreement between the government of Minas Gerais and Catalonia.

The cooperation agreement includes the exchange of professional issues, knowledge, technologies and facilitation of agreements between companies in the two regions. Thus, the foundations of the cluster management system were established with the Secretariat of Economic Development and Environment. In 2012, the content of the agreement was defined and the intention to sign the agreement was signed.

The definitive Agreement was signed in July 2013. See photograph with the agreement signed.