A recent study shows that poor solid waste management could cost Brazil R$130 billion in 2050 if poor waste management continues.
THE research, prepared by the international consultancy S2F Partners and which used the same method applied by the United Nations, considered some factors. AndAmong them are the low adherence to recycling and the excess of waste that ends up in landfills, in addition to the existence of dumps – which should have already been abolished in the country.
Today, Brazil can be considered a poor manager of waste, according to experts, due to the low waste recycling rate in the country.
Given this scenario, Brazil currently spends around R$ 90 billion reais per year in indirect costs of the current waste treatment model, which are the so-called “externalities”, which result from low recycling.
According to the study, if nothing is done to change the scenario, spending on externalities in 2050 will cost public coffers around R$130 billion.
It’s a loss of R$115 billion since if the country meets the goals established in the National Solid Waste Policy, Law 12.305/10, which provides for a recycling rate of over 50%, the externalities would not exceed R$15 billion in 2050.
“These impacts of soil contamination, water contamination, pollutant emissions into the atmosphere, the issue of ozone layer depletion, acidification of the seas, everything caused by this inadequate disposal of solid waste ends up being transformed into a monetary cost”.
Who explains what externalities are is Carlos Silva Jr., president of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and one of the authors of the research.
“And if we then follow this trend, this perspective for 2050, this cost reaches more than 130 billion reais just with externalities, without counting the costs of treating health problems caused by this poor waste management”, he continues.
Currently, 30 million tons of waste that should be disposed of correctly are sent to landfills and so-called controlled landfills every year, which bury the waste. But this measure is still far from what is foreseen in the national solid waste plan, which aims to increase recycling over the next two decades.
Environmental experts indicate that landfill soil, regardless of preparation or isolation, has a limit to receiving large quantities of waste for a long time – even more so considering that much of the waste deposited there could have another destination.
THEFurthermore, the waste stored in landfills can have worrying impacts, such as groundwater pollution, in the event of a leak.
“The first step is to close the landfill and put an end to these inappropriate disposal practices, including the so-called controlled landfills that are nothing more than fake landfills,” argues Carlos Silva Filho.
“Next, we need to move forward with the recovery of waste as a resource, that is, themove forward with the recovery of the dry fraction, but it is also very important that we also start to address the valorization of the organic fraction, and organic waste is half of the urban solid waste generated in Brazil”, he continues.
In Brazil, the solid waste reuse rate has been stuck between 3 and 4% for more than ten years. The number is well below the global average, which is 19%, according to the S2F Partners study.
“In urban solid waste, we have around 46% organic matter and 33% dry fraction. This material is potentially recoverable and has value. And according to the National Solid Waste Policy, only waste should go to sanitary landfills, licensed landfills, or engineering works. We will then have to go from a 4% recovery to 48% in just under 20 years, counting from today. So the task is quite challenging, it demands concrete actions and effective investments”, says Silva Filho.
Already Pedro Jacobi, senior professor at the Institute of Energy and Environment of USP (IEA-USP), highlights the cultural issue involving the irregular disposal of waste in Brazil.
“Poor waste collection has a direct impact on the quality of urban life, as people walk around many cities and see waste simply thrown in the middle of the street. And people end up seeing a little waste and… throwing even more. There’s also a cultural issue, right?” he observes.
Among the alternatives to reduce the volume of waste that goes to landfills are measures such as recycling and the composting .
Other initiatives, such as incentives for sustainable consumption and the reuse of packaging and other products, would also help to improve the situation. This is called circular economy.
“When we are talking about the circular economy, we have to think that we have the possibility of recycling, of reusing. And this is also a fundamental perspective, because by reusing a certain type of material, I will also reduce the impact of the extraction of many types of inputs”, he says. Jacobi .
“These are not new initiatives, there are already many experiences and all of this can clearly be incorporated within a perspective of significantly reducing the volume of waste that goes to landfills”, adds the professor.
This content was originally published in Brazil could waste R$130 billion in 2050 due to poor waste management, says study on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
