Gabriela de Ávila Machado
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
he Ministry of the Environment (MMA) opened a public consultation on the National Solid Waste Plan (Planares) on July 31. Planares was provided for in the National Solid Waste Policy and includes measures for waste management in Brazil.
Planares is national in scope and, according to the MMA, could help to close down the more than 3,000 dumps in Brazil by 2024. Planares also has other important targets for the sector:
- Universal waste collection by 2036;
- Access by 72.6% of the population to selective collection by 2040;
- Formalization of contracts with cooperatives and associations in 95% of Brazilian municipalities by 2040, to reduce the insecurity and vulnerability of waste pickers; and
- Increasing the amount of dry waste recycling in the country tenfold over the next 20 years.
Finally, Planares also foresees the reuse of more than 60% of the biogas generated from the decomposition of organic waste, which, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, would have the potential to supply 9.5 million households with electricity.
The consultation is open until September 30.
