Partnership Between Germany and Brazil Enables the Construction of the Most Advanced Mechanical Waste Treatment Plant in Latin America

The city of São Paulo has taken another step towards circularity. In 2025, STADLER, was contracted by Ecourbis S.A., to build the “UTM Leste†sorting plant.

Helena Oliveira

The city of São Paulo has taken another step towards circularity. In 2025, STADLER, a German company with global operations specializing in the planning, production, and assembly of turnkey sorting plants, was contracted by Ecourbis S.A., a company that manages solid waste in the city of São Paulo (SP), to build the "UTM Leste†sorting plant.

 
The project combines STADLER's global engineering know-how and local operational expertise with a shared commitment to innovation and sustainability. It aims to increase resource recovery, improve process efficiency, and reduce dependence on landfills. In addition, UTM Leste will pioneer the application of Artificial Intelligence through the STADLERconnect platform, which will enable predictive maintenance, blockage detection, and real-time process optimization—marking the first implementation of the platform in Latin America. The plant will have a processing capacity of 135 tons per hour (550,000 tons per year), recovering 48,000 tons of recyclables, producing 260,000 tons of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), and generating 170,000 tons of organic matter for biogas, diverting more than 308,000 tons per year from landfill disposal.
 
In addition, the process plans to produce two types of RDF. The first, called Urban RDF (RDF-U), consists mainly of flexible plastics, as well as small amounts of paper and rigid plastics with low recyclability, from fractions between 100 and 300 mm and classified by ballistic and optical separators with NIR technology to ensure high fuel quality. The second, called Green RDF, is predominantly composed of organic materials, paper, and a small amount of plastic, from fractions between 30 and 100 mm, which undergo screening and equipment for the removal of metals and recyclable plastics. After classification, both materials are crushed to about 50 mm and dried in a belt dryer, which uses air heated by burning landfill gas to reduce moisture to about 10%, ensuring the quality of the alternative fuel.
 
Finally, for São Paulo, the benefits of UTM Leste will also have a strong social impact. The automation and modernization of the plant will generate hundreds of direct and indirect jobs, improve working conditions for operators, and strengthen the development of the circular economy in the local market, promoting secondary raw materials and renewable fuels. The plant is scheduled to be delivered in the second half of 2027.

Sources
Stadler Anlagenbau GmbH. (2025, November 21). *Stadler and Ecourbis Ambiental to build the most advanced waste treatment plant in Latin America: UTM Leste in São Paulo*. [stadler-engineering.com]
Plastech. (2025, November 20). *Stadler to build advanced MSW sorting plant UTM Leste in São Paulo*. [www.plastech.biz/en]
Waste Management World. (2025, November 20). *Stadler and Ecourbis Ambiental will build the most advanced waste treatment plant in Latin America*. [waste-management-world.com]

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