Subsidies for the integrated management of solid urban waste in the city of São João da Barra, Brazil

Abstract

About 60% of Brazilian cities, especially small ones, still dispose of their urban solid waste inadequately. The solution to this problem poses a major challenge for public management. In São João da Barra, a city located north of the state of Rio de Janeiro, until the 1970s, citizens used to throw their waste directly into the waters of the Paraíba do Sul River or discard them in open air dumps. As a result, the research proposed in this paper aims to make a diagnosis of the process of solid urban waste management in this municipality, based on the vision of stakeholders involved in this process. This is an exploratory descriptive research on the process of collection and final disposal of urban solid waste in the Municipality of São João da Barra, Brazil. The data used in this article were obtained through a specialized bibliography, a semi-structured interview applied to the secretaries of the environment of the Municipal Department of Environment of the City of São João da Barra and interviews with the Environment Technician of the concessionary company about the management of waste in the city. Visits and observations in loco were also made to the "dump", which allowed the description of the aspects inherent to the collection, transportation and final disposal of the solid waste of the city under study. It was verified that the municipality has daily collection system, transportation through a compactor truck and final disposal, however it was noticed that the community does not have the predisposition to treat and minimize the generation of waste at the source and individuals also need to be aware of the damage that waste can cause to the environment in which they live. As recommendations for future studies, it is suggested that the municipal government develop an integrated solid waste management plan, as well as the study of areas for the implantation of a sanitary landfill, the elaboration of laws that complement the existing Master Plan with the subject in question, besides the incentive to the selective collection through programs of environmental education with the citizens.