A forest is growing in the midst of a 300,000-square meter plot that until 1995 accumulated 16 million tons of garbage in the Santo Amaro district in the southern part of the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. The former dump, where the pile of waste reached more than 55 meters tall, is now home to trees that have already reached heights of eight meters, and the first birds are beginning to arrive. The project, begun in 1999, entailed planting 2,416 trees of 24 tropical species that could flourish in the soil that has deteriorated as a result of the solid waste.

This pioneer project was based on studies by agronomist Julio Cesar da Matta, in the postgraduate engineering program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Before planting, experts studied soil fertility, and emissions of gases and the presence of heavy metals at the former dump.