Affiliation(s)
1. São Paulo State University (UNESP), São Paulo 13506-900, Brazil
2. School of Technology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Limeira 13484-332, Brazil
3. University of São Paulo (USP), 13.418-900. Piracicaba, Brazil
4. Fehily Timoney and Company, D11 PXT0. Dublin, Ireland
ABSTRACT
The
collection and proper disposal of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) is one of the biggest challenges faced by Brazilian public managers.
Dry recyclable waste represents about 33.6% of the gravimetric composition of MSW, with a tendency to
increase in the next few years, due to the increasing consumption of processed
products, with short life cycles and excess packaging. The inadequate
management of these residues results in a series of social, environmental and
economic problems. In recent years, there has been a great advance in Brazilian
laws, assigning responsibilities and regulating waste management in the
country, optimizing the use of infrastructure and human and financial
resources. Scarce resources and insufficient infrastructure demand actions
based on a lot of planning. One of the main limiting factors for the planning
and development of public policies for the sector is the lack of reliable data
and information on the generation and management of waste, that allow the
creation of future scenarios and the definition of adequate strategies for
minimization, valorization of waste and final disposal of waste that no longer
can be processed. Thus, this work sought to analyze the current situation of
selective waste collection and recycling cooperatives in 211 municipalities in
the State of São Paulo, evaluating the issues and opportunities for the
applicability of Law n. 12,305/2010, Brazilian PNRS (in Portuguese) (National Policy of
Solid Waste) in the management of
this waste in small, medium and large cities. A bibliographic research was
carried out on the panorama of solid waste management in Brazil and in the
State of São Paulo, as well as a contextualization on selective waste
collection and recycling cooperatives. Following that, data from 211
municipalities taking part in the survey Solid Waste Management—Municipalities of the
State of São Paulo were analyzed, focusing
on answers that correlated with the topics covered in this research. For this
work, questions were used in order to obtain a basic overview of solid waste
management in the municipalities, identifying the characteristics of selective
waste collection and recycling cooperatives in the municipalities and to verify
the similarity, benefits and difficulties of selective waste collection and
waste cooperatives in the municipalities studied. After tabulating and
analyzing the data, a matrix was prepared to compare the results obtained in
relation to selective waste collection and recycling cooperatives and the
guidelines of the PNRS (National Solid Waste
Policy) in urban
environmental management, which allowed the conclusion that all municipalities
participating in the research have a good understanding of solid waste
management practices, as well as seek to comply with the guidelines of the
PNRS. However, the results of this matrix indicated that there are important
points that need to be considered in the planning of actions for a better
management of recyclable waste, such as the implementation of inter-municipal
consortiums in the management of solid waste, investment in environmental
education, stimulation to create recycling cooperatives and adoption of social
inclusion regulations for informal waste collectors.
KEYWORDS
Solid
waste, Brazilian National
Policy of Solid Waste, solid waste
management, MSW, recycling, cooperatives.
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