Buzios, 2 hours away from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a city of 29.000 inhabitants, whose wonderful landscape and clean seaside attract 2.5 million of tourists every year. But these are not the only reasons of its popularity, not even because Rio +20 took place there: Buzios is worth knowing because it is a real example of sustainability.

In the city, waste has become a trade good: 25 liters of used cooking oil are worth 7 real (3 euros). Actually every kind of waste has its price: 1 kg of cans, 2 real; 1 kg plastic, 30 cents. If they are properly picked up, according to the separate collection rules, they can be sold and sellers receive a discount in the energy bill. This virtuous mechanism is only one of the initiatives of the Enel- Endesa Project, worth 18.7 million dollars, that aims at transforming Buzios in a Smart City, the first in South America.

Enel is now concretely implementing other aspects of the project. In three years the entire city will be equipped with smart electricity meters, with a microchip able to collect useful information and help consumers in saving energy. With this improvement, citizens are expected to save 30% of their electricity consumption. Moreover, walking around the city other results of this project are already visible: waste separated collection, led bulbs , free wi-fi spots, which are all steps towards sustainability.

For more information, please, visit the Enel website