Brazilian Legislation
PNRS, New Sanitation Framework and Ordinance 274/2019 structure waste management in Brazil — and make the end of landfills and gross disposal mandatory.
National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS)
The PNRS brings together principles, objectives, instruments, guidelines, goals and actions of the Federal Government, States, Federal District, Municipalities and individuals for the integrated management and environmentally appropriate management of solid waste.
- Order of priority: non-generation, reduction, reuse, recycling, treatment and adequate final disposal
- Introduces "shared responsibility" between society, companies, city halls and state and federal governments
- Prohibits the creation of open dumps and determines the closure of existing ones
- City halls must invest in environmentally appropriate solutions to only receive waste without the possibility of reuse
- Possibility of using waste to generate energy, with technical feasibility and monitoring of toxic gases
- Prohibition on the import of any garbage
- Federal transfers conditional on the approval of municipal solid waste management plans
The pyramid of priorities.
Every municipality must follow this order of priority in waste management.
Waste (has value, can be treated) is different from non-recoverable waste (can no longer be used). Only non-recoverable waste should go to final disposal.
New Sanitation Framework
The New Legal Framework extended the PNRS deadlines for the end of open dumps and the environmentally appropriate final disposal of waste.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, there are still around 3 thousand open dumps in Brazil contaminating soil and water. Municipalities that do not meet the deadlines lose access to federal funds.
Ordinance 274/2019
The ordinance that regulated energy recovery from urban solid waste in Brazil — the milestone that legally shielded URE's.
- Defines the URE — Urban Solid Waste Energy Recovery Unit
- Recommends energy recovery as an environmentally appropriate form of final disposal
- Requires proof of technical, environmental and economic-financial feasibility
- Imposes continuous monitoring program for toxic gas emissions
- Includes treatments by thermal oxidation, pyrolysis, gasification and plasma processes
- URE must reach a minimum of 850°C after the last injection of combustion air, in a controlled manner
Regulatory compliance without the headache.
Bionergia monitors emissions and organic pollutants, with operations guided by Law 6.938/1981 and Law 14.026/2020.
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