Draft:COMLURB

The Municipal Urban Cleaning Company (COMLURB, by its initials in Portuguese) is a mixed-capital company whose majority shareholder is the city government of Rio de Janeiro. It is the largest public cleaning organization in Latin America. COMLURB was established legally by Public Law No. 102, of May 15, 1975.

Its main objective is cleaning and sanitation in the city of Rio de Janeiro.  Responsibilities include household collection services, cleaning of public facilities (thoroughfares, beach sand, public parks, street furniture, tunnels and overpasses) and cleaning and waste disposal in public health facilities.  COMLURB performs the transfer, treatment and final disposal of waste generated in the city. The company has an Applied Research Center in Jacarepaguá and the Hélio G. Pellegrino Urban Arts Center in Gávea.

To be hired by COMLURB, one must pass a civil service exam authorized by the City of Rio de Janeiro. The process involves a theoretical exam and a physical capacity test (TAF). The City last administered this exam in 2014 and announced a new civil service exam in 2025.

History

The company descends from Aleixo Gary e Cia, an urban cleaning company that was founded in 1876 Frenchman Aleixo Gary, that the city government contracted to perform urban cleaning services. The contract was valid until 1891, and the company closed the following year. The work of the company was so highly regarded that public cleaning workers became popularly known throughout Brazil as garis, a reference to the company’s founder (street cleaners).

The city then established the Urban Cleaning Department (DLU, by its initials in Portuguese for Departamento de Limpeza Urbana) operated within the Superintendence of Urbanization and Sanitation of the Federal District (SURSAN, in Portuguese Superintendencia de Urbanizacao e Sanitacao da Area Nacional). When the State of Guanabara was created, the DLU was succeeded by the State Urban Cleaning Company (CELURB, Companhia Estadal de Limpeza Urbana).[8] When the states of Rio de Janeiro with the State of Guanabara merged in 1975, COMLURB succeeded CELURB was succeeded by the current COMLURB.

In 1979, COMLURB started a composting program with the creation of the Fertilub fertilizer superfacility.  In 1985, the Aleixo Gary Factory opened, and for the first time COMLURB provided cleaning services in Rio’s favelas. In 2025, the agency deployed a fleet of 160 garbage trucks and 8,000 dumpsters and trash-compacting containers to neighborhoods and favelas in Rio’s North Zone.  In 1986, COMLURB hired its first female cleaners.  The Caju Recycling Center opened in 1992, the same year COMLURB began providing clearing services in hospitals. In 2018, COMLURB launched Latin America’s first biomethanation plant, converting solid waste into biogas, in the Caju Ecopark.  

In 1994, COMLURB began nighttime collections services for residences and launched its Selective Collection program.  COMLURB cleaned the water system in Lagoa and the Lagunar Complex in Jacarepagua in 1996.  In 2001, COMLURB installed the first eco-collection drops in the city.  In 2004, COMLURB expanded to provide cleaning services in public schools.  The Gramacho Biogas facility opened in 2009, the same year COMLURB began maintaining trees in Rio de Janeiro.  In 2013, it implemented the Zero Waste and the Clean Beach Programs.

In 2015, COMLURB launched social media outlets on Facebook and Twitter, and later added feeds on LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.  In 2025, COMLURB celebrated its 50th anniversary <ref>https://comlurbnet.rio.rj.gov.br/extranet/50anoscomlurb/index.html </ref>

In 2015, the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro honored COMLURB by bathing the Cristo Redentor statue in orange on May 16, the Day of Gari, now an annual tribute.

COMLURB provides cleaning services for major public events in Rio de Janeiro, including the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the 2014 World Cup, and the record-setting concerts on Copacabana Beach featuring Lady Gaga (2025) and Madonna (2024).