Brazil Circular Economy Roadmap

In 2025, Alcoa Brazil advanced its Circular Economy Roadmap, establishing an integrated approach to rethinking waste management across operations in Juruti, São Luís, and Poços de Caldas.

The program completed a comprehensive study to identify priority waste streams, including SPL, conveyor belts, bauxite residue, organic waste, scrap metal, and refinery by-products. Strategic mapping was conducted using the principles of the 10 Rs of Circular Economy.

Key achievements included developing site-specific circularity initiatives, strengthening partnerships with recyclers and potential customers, and establishing a unified governance model to guide implementation. These initiatives help strengthen a culture of circularity and support a more resilient, lower-impact operational footprint across Brazilian operations.

One notable initiative focused on recovering scale generated during tank and vessel cleaning in the Bayer refining process. Although rich in valuable aluminum and sodium hydroxide, this material was previously disposed of in residue storage areas. At the Alumar refinery, a dedicated covered and waterproofed processing area was created to crush and screen the scale before reintegrating it into the Bayer process. This solution transforms a traditionally discarded residue into recovered feedstock, reduces disposal requirements and internal equipment traffic, and strengthens circular economy performance across the production chain.