Report published in Lwart's blog on January 4, 2021
When we talk about solid waste management, the question arises about what it is. Therefore, before dealing directly with management, it is worth highlighting that solid waste is material or substances produced by various human activities which, after use, can be directed to transformation processes. Therefore, they are differentiated from waste, as defined by the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS).
This waste can be domestic, industrial or urban cleaning waste. Each type of waste determines how it should be treated and reused. In order to ensure correct disposal and for economic sectors to develop alternatives for the collection and treatment of post-consumer waste, there is the PNRS, a law that completed ten years in 2020. However, even after this time, there are still difficulties in implementing the rules.
WHAT DOES THE PNRS SAY?
Established by Law 12.305/2010, the PNRS establishes the instruments for advances in the management and administration of solid waste in the national territory, through coordination between the different spheres of public power and the business sector, with the purpose of cooperation to meet the objective of the law, which in general is to guarantee the protection of public health and environmental quality. However, to achieve this goal, several pillars are necessary, such as non-generation, reduction, reuse and recycling and treatment of solid waste, as well as environmentally appropriate final disposal of waste.
The PNRS also establishes:
- Encouraging the adoption of sustainable patterns of production and consumption of goods and services;
- Adoption, development and improvement of clean technologies as a way to minimize environmental impacts;
- And the incentive to develop environmental and business management systems aimed at improving production processes and reusing solid waste.
THE ROAD IS LONG!
To give you an idea, the average recycling rate in Brazil did not pass from 3.7% in 2019, according to the Urban Cleaning Sustainability Index (ISLU). According to the index, the regions that recycle the least are the Northeast, North and Central-West, where the rates do not exceed 2%.
“There are several rules for the collection and legal disposal of waste, mainly to study ways of transforming it. This allows the waste to be used again, with what we call added value, that is, reinserted for a new function, creating the circular economy chain. The idea is to value recycling processes, generating the minimum amount of waste. However, one of the biggest problems encountered is precisely at the beginning of this operation, that is, in the separation and proper disposal by society”, says Aylla Kipper, Institutional Relations and Sustainability Manager at Lwart Soluções Ambientais.
Focusing on the role of small, medium and large industries, which generate large amounts of solid waste, studies indicate that, as many companies are located in distant regions, mainly in the interior, the cost of requesting waste collection is high, since weight and mileage are analyzed for this calculation.
Unfortunately, some companies opt for the easiest way to dispose of waste, which ends up being harmful to the environment. They discard this waste as waste, which means that many materials that could be transformed into new products are not. In addition, there are clandestine collections, which prevent waste from generating a circular economy and having a new useful life, as it ends up being discarded directly into the environment or in landfills, which can cause major environmental impacts.
IT IS NECESSARY TO ACT
For safe solid waste management, the main point is to ensure that consumers properly separate post-consumer waste and that collection reaches the locations where the waste is generated.
For collection two factors are important: First, generators must ensure that the waste will have the ideal destination. One way to identify this is through the Collection Certificate, which enables the traceability of the chain of custody and certificates of correct disposal.
The other factor comes from the supervisory powers. The Public Prosecutor's Office has in its structure bodies capable of assisting in the demands of environmental and health implementation and inspection. However, it is clear that there is a gap in this issue, since, unfortunately, we note the existence of the illegal market that involves everything from collection to dumps and irregular landfills throughout the country.
In order for these actions to be put into practice and, above all, to improve inspection, the States need to act in accordance with the PNRS. The State of São Paulo, for example, has had the State Policy on Solid Waste (PERS) since 2006, Law No. 12,200/2006, which maintains a set of principles and guidelines for the management of solid waste generated in the territory. And among the monitoring agents is the Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo (Cetesb), which works to monitor pollution-generating activities.
The State Solid Waste Plan was launched in 2014. The document combines actions in accordance with the law for public and private application. In fact, it was open for public consultation until November 2020. This way, both civil society and companies operating in the sector could express themselves through questions and suggestions for actions.
“Given the current scenario and discussions about waste management in the country, we know that we still have a long way to go to achieve the expected levels of collection, recovery and recycling of this solid waste, considered post-consumer. But it is important to be aligned with new technologies and possibilities for transforming these items to ensure that this waste management achieves the sustainability results we need for a better future,” concludes Aylla.
