In order to improve the regulation on solid waste management and recycling in the country, two federal decrees published on April 14 established the National Solid Waste Plan (Planares) and the Recycling Credit Certificate (Recicla+) as a mechanism to incentive recycling and reverse logistics.

Federal Decree 11,043/22 instrumentalized Article 15 of Federal Law 12,305/10 (National Solid Waste Policy - PNRS), which sets the minimum content for Planares, to be prepared by the Federal Government, under the coordination of the Ministry of the Environment (MMA).

The decree enacted predicts the ways for creation of Planares, which determines, at national level, the strategy to implement legal provisions, principles, objectives and guidelines of the PNRS in the next 20 years.

Planares was prepared by the MMA by means of a cooperation agreement with the Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies (Abrelpe), after contributions obtained at several public hearings and a public consultation, from July to November 2020.[1]

To formulate Planares guidelines, the main source of data used was the Diagnosis of Urban Solid Waste Management, from 2010 to 2018, from the National Information System on Sanitation/Solid Waste (SNIS-RS), as well as information obtained from Abrelpe, the National Information System on Solid Waste Management (Sinir) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Planares presents the diagnosis of the situation of solid waste in Brazil, followed by a proposition of scenarios, including national, international and macroeconomic trends. The plan should be updated every four years.

Among the provisions of Planares, the following targets stand out with respect to Urban Solid Waste (RSU), Civil Construction Waste (CCR) and Health Services Waste (RSS):

  • Increase the economic and financial sustainability of waste management by municipalities;
  • Increase the management capacity of municipalities;
  • Eliminate inappropriate final disposal practices and shut down controlled dumps and landfills by 2024;
  • Reduce the amount of waste sent to environmentally appropriate final disposal, through recovery of recyclable materials, biological treatment and energy recovery, with a recovery target of 48.1% of the total mass of RSU by 2040;
  • Promote social inclusion and economic emancipation of collectors of reusable and recyclable materials, with the formalization of 95% of contracts executed by and between municipalities and waste collectors and cooperatives by 2040;
  • Increase the recovery of the dry fraction of RSUs, from the current 3% to 20% in relation to the total mass, as well as increase to 50% the packaging recycling under the reverse logistics system by 2040;
  • Increase recycling of the organic fraction of RSU, with recovery of 13.5% by 2040;
  • Increase the recovery and energy use of RSU biogas to more than 60% by 2040;
  • Increase recovery and energy utilization through heat treatment of RSU, with installed power capacity of 994 MW by 2040;
  • Increase RCC recycling up to 25% by 2040; and
  • Increase the environmentally appropriate final destination of RSS, so that all municipalities make adequate destination by 2040.

In addition to the recycling and reverse logistics goals and strategies outlined under Planares, Federal Decree 11,044/22 was enacted, establishing the Recycling Credit Certificate, Recicla+.

Recicla+ has as main objectives to:

  • improve the implementation and operationalization of infrastructure and logistics in the sector;
  • provide scale gains in recycling;
  • promote the use of solid waste and its direction for energy recovery or the appropriate production chain;
  • stimulate the development and consumption of recyclable products and inputs with smaller environmental impact; and
  • match interests between the economic and social agents involved in the chain.

According to data released,[2] it is estimated that the certificate can generate a potential investment of about R$ 14 billion per year in the recycling sector, increasing the income of waste collectors and all those involved in the reverse logistics chain, in addition to increasing the recycling rate of dry waste in the country and reducing recycling costs for companies subject to reverse logistics targets, as provided for in Art. 33 of the PNRS.

Recicla+ represents a recycling credit – issued by waste collectors cooperatives, consortium, private companies, civil society organizations, municipalities – corresponding to the verified amount of recyclable material destined for recycling or energy recovery. The certificate may be purchased by manufacturers, importers, distributors and traders for the purpose of proving compliance with their reverse logistics targets.

The issuance and acquisition of Recicla+ is voluntary, individualized and must be accomplished based in the Certificate of Final Destination (CDF), issued on the basis of the Waste Transport Manifest (MTR) and electronic invoices of the products/packaging trading operations that have returned for recycling or energy recovery.

The registration of the interested agents and the issuance of Recicla+ will be fulfilled in Sinir by the management entities authorized to operate the reverse logistics systems in a collective model.

The entire process must undergo prior approval of electronic invoices, carried out by an independent auditor hired by the managing body, to prove the veracity, authenticity, uniqueness and additionality of information related to the recycling of products and packaging.

Companies that do not adhere to the collective model of reverse logistics system through a management entity should set up their own structure to operationalize the system – including hiring an independent auditor for the approval of documents – and report the results to MMA.

With the institution of Planares and creation of Recicla+, the idea was to improve the management of solid waste in a proper, transparent and efficient way in the country, reducing the costs of companies subject to reverse logistics and providing income gain to others involved in the chain in benefit of higher waste recycling and preservation of the environment.

It is worth monitoring how public agents and the private sector will adhere to Planares’s strategies and goals and what incentives will be given to the use of Recicla+.

 

[1] MMA website - Public hearings on the National Solid Waste Plan run through the regions of the country. Access on 04.20.2022

[2] MMA website - Federal Government launches Recycling Credit Certificate - Recicla+. Access on 04.20.2022.