Initiatives include waste management on the route, delivery of water filters to families without sanitation, and installation of 2 water distribution centers in public schools.

Conasa Infraestrutura, present in several regions of Brazil with sanitation, public lighting, and highway concession operations, is the new supporter of some of the environmental actions of Sertões 2023, the largest rally in the Americas, which takes place from August 11 to 19 in three Northeastern states: Pernambuco, Bahia, and Ceará. The initiative includes the correct disposal of waste produced on the route, environmental education actions in schools, and donation of water treatment filters to families without sanitation during the race route, a total of 3,800km.

Waste management will take place in the Sertões Villages, in the cities of Petrolina, Crato, Sobral, Cruz, and Praia do Preá, and will be carried out with the participation of local cooperatives. In addition to providing the correct disposal of all recyclable and common waste, the action will generate income for the communities.

Two public schools in Petrolina and Cruz/Preá were selected to receive water distribution centers with technology from the social impact startup Água Camelo for water filtration. The schools were chosen according to criteria related to the need for sanitation. They will also receive lectures on the importance of waste management and training for implementing pedagogical and organic gardens, taught by the Eccaplan - Sustainability Consulting team.

The families in rural areas without sanitation, in Petrolina, Raso da Catarina, Crato, Camocim, and Preá, will receive 250 water filters developed by Conasa. They comprise two non-toxic 10-liter buckets, a tap, and a traditional filter. In addition to easy maintenance, the model is easily replicable.

The idea of creating the filters came from the president of Conasa, who is also a pilot of the Braço Curto MotorSport team. During one of the rally editions, he had to wait for several hours for mechanical assistance in a remote location. A local community resident gave him some yellowish water, then he realized the absence of water treatment and the urgent need to change this reality. He asked the Conasa team to create a filter that could be assembled with accessible materials.

The filters were developed for the first-time last year and delivered to the families and the school of the Quilombola Boa Esperança Community, located in the municipality of Mateiros/TO, in a total of 60 units. Along with the filters, families receive explanatory booklets on the importance of drinking treated water, warning of diseases related to lack of sanitation, and step-by-step instructions for cleaning the water tank.

“We will practically deliver four times more this year. When people have access to water and treated sewage, the change in people's lives is enormous. Sanitation should be the number one priority in Brazil. Statistics say that every 1 Real invested in sanitation saves 4 Reais in health, which justifies all the investment necessary to change this reality in the country,” said Mario Marcondes Neto, president of Conasa Infraestrutura.