During the last years the world has taken more into account the sustaintability cicle of life on Earth. There is a need to take good care of the environment and to engage people in such practise.To uphold these values means questioning, and in some ways altering the present standards of world consumption. This material brings to light matters on urban disposal, identifying how a certain part of the Rio de Janeiro people contributes to their trash separation. The results are based on the residents of the Vivendas do Sol housing complex, located in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Polling was the method used to obtain information such as the polleds extensity of knowledge on the subject, their motivations, barriers and benefits acknowledged in the reffered area. The results showed that part of the sample shows knowledge of the term coleta seletiva - which is portuguese for separate-trash-collection - understands its relevance to sustainability and contributes in accordance. Nevertheless, in a few cases it can be observed that attitude favorable to environmentally correct decisions do not translate in an according behaviour. Even among those who do take part in separate-trash-collection there is a certain degree of skepticism relating to the collecting company and the administration of the housing complex. Towards the end suggestions on how to optimize this process will be presented.