In Colombia, professional recyclers were not the only group permitted to make use of recyclable materials via public waste collection. Some aspects of the decree regulating this economic activity, passed in 2016, produced unfair competition when it came to accessing recyclable materials and commercializing them, putting recyclers at a disadvantage.  

On November 14, 2024, the Colombian government passed Decree 1381, granting exclusive permission to professional recycler organizations to take economic advantage of recyclable materials via public waste collection. Thanks to these regulations, legally recognized recyclers will be the only sector entitled to make use of waste collected throughout the country, in recognition of the role they play as agents of socio-environmental change and their contributions to building a just and regenerative economy.  

This decree is a result of the advocacy efforts that recycler organizations have been carrying out for years, calling on the Colombian government to uphold the rulings of the Colombian Constitutional Court, which deemed professional recyclers as subject to special constitutional protections and urged the government to implement measures for their legal recognition and policies to improve their working, economic, and social conditions. The recent modification of the law is a decisive step in the direction of the original intent of the 2016 decree, which is to strengthen the technical, financial, and operational capacities of recycler organizations to become public service providers at the national level.  

This measure was critical because, since the enactment of Decree 596 in 2016—which establishes guidelines for taking economic advantage of recyclable materials via public waste collection and for the legal recognition and formal organization    of recyclers—companies and other non-recycler entities began to take advantage of loopholes in the regulation, accessing differentiated rates and subsidies specifically intended for recycler organizations. This new decree ensures improved waste management for over 32 million urban residents while creating a policy to benefit the country's 60,000 recyclers, providing specific benefits to aid them in overcoming the disadvantages and discrimination they have historically experienced.   

Fundación Avina provided direct support to Asociación Nacional de Recicladores de Colombia, the national recycler association, to approach the Ministry of Housing and advocate for making changes to the decree that had been in place since 2016.  

Fundación Avina played a crucial role in helping establish a unifying vision and facilitating dialogue between recycler organizations and the government, as well as offering technical input on the policy proposal. Our work included generating data and technical evidence as well as creating a narrative to support the recycler association's demands. We also strengthened social capital in the process, promoting recyclers' political participation and bringing together shared action agendas to reach this objective. This boosted the recycler association's organizational and operational capacities, which will be key for the implementation of the new regulations.  

The decree stipulates a 15-year exclusivity period and guarantees recyclers' safe access to urban solid waste, aiming to improve their living conditions and increase their income.