In 2005 Brazil recycled 96.2 percent of its used aluminum cans, making it the world's leader in this activity for the fifth year in a row, according to the Brazilian Aluminium Association (ABAL). Japan followed with 91.7 percent, while the United States and the European Union trailed with can recycling levels of only 52 percent, said ABAL during an international seminar in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo.

“Organizing the market at all points of the chain in the early 1990s was key to Brazil's success,” ABAL’s Recycling Coordinator, José Roberto Giosa, told Tierramérica.

The collection system also has a large social impact, providing a source of income for 520,000 informal collectors and street garbage vendors.