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E. C. Latocheski and J. C. P. Lofhagen
2 Solid Waste Management in Brazil and Dependence
on Sanitary Landfills
Modern lifestyle, based on widespread consumption and industrialized societies,
produces significant amounts of waste, usually solid or semi-solid. In this context,
“solid waste” refers to all types of solid or semi-solid material resulting from human
activities which are discarded. The term “municipal solid waste” (MSW), on the other
hand, refers, in Brazil, to solid waste generated in urban residences or collected by
urban street cleaning services.
In Brazil, an average of 1.035 kg of MSW is produced per person per day. In
2017, more than 78 million tons of MSW were generated, according to the Brazilian
Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies—ABRELPE (Abrelpe
2018). The total amount of waste generated in 2017 in the country increased by about
1%, when compared to 2016 (Abrelpe 2018; Brazil 2019), while the population
increased 0.75% in the same period (Abrelpe 2018). It is expected that in the coming
years, the amount of solid waste generated per capita will increase even more, due
to a higher population income and consequent heftier consumption habits (Campos
2014). However, if not properly disposed, solid waste can adversely affect human and
environmental health. So, in order to seek more sustainable and socially responsible
solutions for the treatment and disposal of this waste, its integrated management has
been encouraged.
Integrated solid waste management (ISWM) is a set of techniques and technologies applied to the disposal of solid waste. ISWM aims to reduce negative
social and environmental impacts related to waste disposal, as conceptualized by
Tchobanoglous et al. (2002). According to the same authors, the steps included in
ISWM are: reducing the amount of waste generated at its source, material recovery,
reuse, recycling and composting, energy recovery (by processes such as incineration
or methane generation from waste) and, as a lower priority option, yet still considered
environmentally adequate, final disposal in sanitary landfills.
In Brazil, ISWM has been more encouraged since the publication of the National
Policy on Solid waste (NPSW) in 2010. The NPSW (Brazil 2010) was established
by Federal Law No. 12305/2010, and among its objectives are the non-generation,
reduction, reuse, recycling and treatment of solid waste, as well as the final disposal
of waste in sanitary landfills.
Although it is considered a milestone for the integrated management of MSW
in Brazil, the NPSW has not yet been widely implemented in the country. MSW
management in Brazil consists yet mainly of the collection and disposal of solid
waste in landfills, even though this is considered the last resort (Alfaia et al. 2017).
According to Campos (2014), there are also structural deficiencies in MSW management systems in Brazil, demonstrated by the large number of treatment, recycling
and disposal units that have ceased to operate or have been abandoned in recent years.
Out of the total number of Brazilian MSW processing facilities, only 1.7% of
them are composting units and 25.1% are waste sorting units (Brazil 2019). These
data show that, even with NPSW and incentives for composting, reuse and recycling
E. C. Latocheski and J. C. P. Lofhagen
2 Solid Waste Management in Brazil and Dependence
on Sanitary Landfills
Modern lifestyle, based on widespread consumption and industrialized societies,
produces significant amounts of waste, usually solid or semi-solid. In this context,
“solid waste” refers to all types of solid or semi-solid material resulting from human
activities which are discarded. The term “municipal solid waste” (MSW), on the other
hand, refers, in Brazil, to solid waste generated in urban residences or collected by
urban street cleaning services.
In Brazil, an average of 1.035 kg of MSW is produced per person per day. In
2017, more than 78 million tons of MSW were generated, according to the Brazilian
Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies—ABRELPE (Abrelpe
2018). The total amount of waste generated in 2017 in the country increased by about
1%, when compared to 2016 (Abrelpe 2018; Brazil 2019), while the population
increased 0.75% in the same period (Abrelpe 2018). It is expected that in the coming
years, the amount of solid waste generated per capita will increase even more, due
to a higher population income and consequent heftier consumption habits (Campos
2014). However, if not properly disposed, solid waste can adversely affect human and
environmental health. So, in order to seek more sustainable and socially responsible
solutions for the treatment and disposal of this waste, its integrated management has
been encouraged.
Integrated solid waste management (ISWM) is a set of techniques and technologies applied to the disposal of solid waste. ISWM aims to reduce negative
social and environmental impacts related to waste disposal, as conceptualized by
Tchobanoglous et al. (2002). According to the same authors, the steps included in
ISWM are: reducing the amount of waste generated at its source, material recovery,
reuse, recycling and composting, energy recovery (by processes such as incineration
or methane generation from waste) and, as a lower priority option, yet still considered
environmentally adequate, final disposal in sanitary landfills.
In Brazil, ISWM has been more encouraged since the publication of the National
Policy on Solid waste (NPSW) in 2010. The NPSW (Brazil 2010) was established
by Federal Law No. 12305/2010, and among its objectives are the non-generation,
reduction, reuse, recycling and treatment of solid waste, as well as the final disposal
of waste in sanitary landfills.
Although it is considered a milestone for the integrated management of MSW
in Brazil, the NPSW has not yet been widely implemented in the country. MSW
management in Brazil consists yet mainly of the collection and disposal of solid
waste in landfills, even though this is considered the last resort (Alfaia et al. 2017).
According to Campos (2014), there are also structural deficiencies in MSW management systems in Brazil, demonstrated by the large number of treatment, recycling
and disposal units that have ceased to operate or have been abandoned in recent years.
Out of the total number of Brazilian MSW processing facilities, only 1.7% of
them are composting units and 25.1% are waste sorting units (Brazil 2019). These
data show that, even with NPSW and incentives for composting, reuse and recycling