Management of solid organic waste in Brazil: from legal ordinance to reality

In Brazil, millions of tons of solid organic wastes are still burnt or thrown into open dumps daily due to the lack of knowledge about their potential and the impacts they cause when improperly arranged. This paper aims to analyze the integration and application of the principles and objectives of the National Solid Waste Policy on the management of organic waste in the National Plan for Solid Waste and in the Multi-Year Plans of the Union Budget allocation. Unfortunately, it was observed that the law didn't observe organic wastes, since it has no specific programs or planned actions. The valuation of organic wastes can help solve serious environmental problems, such as soil degradation, erosion, climate change, and divert large amounts of such waste sent to landfills and open dumps in Brazil. Cities, businesses and agriculture are greatly benefited by considering their organic garbage as a precious resource, converting it into fertilizer and/or energy, generating jobs and reducing the cost of their disposal. Therefore, in addition to improving the infrastructure for composting and biomethanization, we must invest intensively in programs to reduce food waste, which will result in smaller volumes to be recycled.