Mar del Plata is the head city of the Partido de General Pueyrredón, Province of Buenos Aires. It is an intermediate city (population of approximately 700 thousand inhabitants), which has the particularity of being a very important national tourist center located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina. During the summer months, its stable population doubles as a result of sun and beach tourism, and it also receives an influx of tourists throughout the year. This leads to the need for oversized urban service structures in relation to the stable population, since seasonal peaks of tourist population must be met. 

In relation to waste, there has been a system of separation and differentiated household collection since 2012, but it has had little success. Separation rates, measured on the weight of MSW (Urban Solid Waste) collected, do not exceed 5%; and of the latter, most (92%) cannot be recovered by urban waste collectors. This speaks of a lack of commitment on the part of citizens, as well as a lack of effective information on waste separation. At the same time, the lack of separation in the city's public and private institutions works as a feedback in a chain of distrust that undermines the system. 

In this context, Playa Limpia emerged as a social enterprise that has been developing actions to raise awareness and promote waste separation in beach resorts (private tourist inns located in the beach area) with a proven model that manages to engage people who pass through these spaces with waste separation, also disseminating the principles of circular economy. On the other hand, the Municipality of General Pueyrredon, through the Department of Environment and Sustainable Development, has been supporting a program to transform the practices of organizations towards environmental sustainability, within the framework of the National Law of Integral Environmental Education, understanding that there is a great potential for implementing non-formal environmental education devices in these areas. 

Both actors identified, from their activities, organizations that showed a strong willingness to implement projects related to the circular economy in their environments: schools, sports clubs, construction companies, service companies. These organizations are leaders in their respective sectors, and stand out for a history of innovation within their activity. Organizations whose corporate purpose was also linked to the circular economy, through waste recovery and recycling, were also surveyed. However, these organizations did not know each other, did not collaborate, and did not have the tools to expand the scope of their circular economy initiatives. For this reason, we propose the development of a space for active collaboration between all these organizations, with the aim of channeling their environmental vocation and transforming their cultural practices, and at the same time serve as an example to the community, disseminating accessible solutions and spreading commitment. 

1. Structuring the platform: An initial core of organizations will be asked to formally join the platform, adhering to a document with basic principles and statements. Adhering organizations will complete a self-diagnosis in order to assess and compare in a standardized way the different degrees of development and maturity of their waste management. The development of a brand identity for the Platform will be supported. 
2. Peer learning and joint work: A "map" or "guide" of initiatives, recovery circuits and reuse and/or recycling actors operating in Mar del Plata will be created so that all members have complete information on how they can dispose of the different waste they generate. The creation of a circuit or project in which different members of the platform can participate will be proposed, as a way of activating collaboration and making the platform's potential visible (to members and third parties). Workshops and exchange meetings will be held on specific topics requested and prioritized by network members.
3. Increase the number of members: Between 15 and 20 new potential members will be invited to present the proposal and invite them to carry out the self-assessment and subsequent adhesion to the platform. Actors with the potential to become members will be identified and invited, and a communication channel will be created to receive inquiries about organizations that may wish to join.
4. Dissemination and outreach: A website, Instagram account and similar will be created as a means of communication to inform society about the platform: its members, objectives and activities. A contact channel (email / phone) will be created with a responsible person in charge of receiving inquiries and contacts on behalf of the platform. 

Direct results:

• 12 Institutions adhered in the first month, along with the formalization of the platform.
  
• Self-diagnoses of these first adhered organizations.
• 1 Logo of the Mar del Plata Circular platform.
• 1 Map of initiatives and recovery circuits.
• 1 Catalog of waste separation and recovery initiatives developed by the participating organizations.
• 2 collaborative projects implemented in the first year.
• 6 meetings to share experiences during the first 12 months.
• 24 member organizations in the third month and 50 organizations in the 12th month.
• 30 communication actions during the first months.

Expected impact:

• Increase by at least 30% in the self-diagnosis score that evaluates the comprehensive waste management strategy of the participating organizations, in one year
• Increase by 50% the number of alliances and/or institutional collaborations in pursuit of the circular economy of each member organization.

• R3 Work Cooperative.
• FortaleceRSE (https://fortalecersemdp.org/)
• Conciencia Civil Association (https://conciencia.org/)

• Patricio Boyd - Founder “Playa Clean” patricio@ourmark.com
• Ariana Bazán - Professional in Economic Sciences of the General Directorate of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Municipality of General Pueyrredon - arianabazan@gmail.com | abazan@mardelplata.gob.ar