Environmental and Social Risks Inherent in Urban Solid Waste Burning Processes

Abstract

The National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS) in Brazil is not a simple waste disposal policy (garbage), but a complex legal apparatus that encompasses strategic principles with a view to Sustainable Development. Therefore, the disposal of waste must meet the three important and inseparable pillars, the environmental, the social and the economic, strictly observing the Precautionary Principle, which requires an analysis that aggregates the expanded view of the most varied sectors of knowledge, without which the objectives of this policy (PNRS) will not be achieved. In this sense, the present study, which uses bibliographic and documentary sources for the analytical basis and the authors' experience in the areas of social and environmental law and in the inspection and operation of incinerators, critically seeks to present the incurable bottlenecks of the incineration of urban solid waste with or without energy recovery (wasteto-energy), considering the current state of technology and knowledge, and pointing out sustainable paths for its destination and treatment.