Over 41% of urban waste was improperly disposed of in 2023
Only 58.5 percent of urban solid waste generated in 2023 was sent for environmentally appropriate disposal, as per a report entitled Panorama dos Resíduos Sólidos no Brasil 2024 (“Solid Waste Panorama in Brazil – 2024”), released Monday (Dec. 9) by the Brazilian Waste and Environment Association (ABREMA). The rest of what was discarded by Brazilians was disposed of inappropriately—in dumps, for instance, where 35.5 percent of the waste generated in the country was deposited.Progress has been made compared to 2022, when the percentage of proper disposal stood at 57 percent. However, the report draws attention to failure to comply with the national solid waste policy, instituted in 2018, which set 2024 as the deadline for the definitive closure of dumps. “In addition to posing risks to the...