Gerenciamento de resíduos sólidos urbanos no norte de Minas Gerais: estudo relativo à implantação de unidades de reciclagem e compostagem a partir de 1997

Abstract

Environment al sustainability constitutes a major issue of the world public agenda today.There are several aspects related to this matter. Among them stands out the solid waste management, which involves solutions to its generation and final disposal. Thus, the research sought to delineate the framework for the urban solid waste management in 15 municipalitiesin the north region of Minas Gerais, by studying the installation of Recycling and Composting Units, made viable by specific public policies at both the state and federal levels. Through a case study based on indicators related to a theoretical reference, an exploratory anddescriptive research on the management of urban solid waste was developed, identifying all aspects which influence that management. The results of the research are the difficulties to operate the Recycling and Composting Units, considering that from the 15 units installed onlyone is working. The main difficulties are: the inadequacy of the infrastructure built in relation to the project and to the requirements of the Environment Department; lack of peoples participation and of programs of environmental and sanitary education during and after thephase of installation of the units; at the municipal level, absence of sustainability mechanisms and lack of command and control tools, which play an important role in management. Furthermore, it has been verified, with respect to outsourcing, during the installation of theRecycling and Composting Units, that the only purpose was the profit coming from their construction, thus risking their operation. At the end of the paper, the following suggestions have been made: local workforceinvolvement and technical qualification to follow the phases of installation and operation of the systems; establishment of a dialog channel among the municipalities and executive and environment departments, to make sure that the systems to be installed meet the requirements of the latter; permanent social mobilization and economic/financial sustainability to ensure the continuity of benefits deriving from the investments of government programs. These suggestions are intended to contribute to the efficacy of related public policies.