"Mercado del Trueque" - barter market project [1]

The barter market project “Mercado del Trueque” was established in Mexico City in 2012. In Mexico City, an average of more than 12,000 tons waste are generated every day. Of these, only about 12% is recycled and the rest is shifted to landfills. As of 2011, Mexico City’s main and one of the world’s largest landfills, Bordo Poniente, reached its maximum capacity and closed, which caused the city’s waste management concerns to increase considerably. This, combined with other incidents, led to the invention of the barter market project “Mercado del Trueque”, which aims to raise Mexico City’s residents’ awareness of the importance of recycling and local consumption. The barter market is held monthly and enables citizens to exchange clean and separated household solid waste for locally produced agricultural food. Every month, over 2,000 people attend the market and exchange waste for food. Exchangeable waste is restricted to 10kg per person per market day. Although the project to date is limited in how much it minimises waste, it is seen as highly important in increasing Mexico City’s culture of waste prevention and recycling.