Author(s)

T. R. T. Campos, M. V. A. Fonseca & R. M. N. Morais

Abstract

The Solid Waste National Policy (SWNP) established by Law No. 12.305/2010 and regulated by Federal Decree No. 7404/2010 indicates advances in solid waste management in Brazil. The main one is the implementation of shared responsibility for the life cycle of products, operationalized through the Reverse Logistics system. This system seeks the restitution of solid waste to the business sector for reusing in the production chain or for environmentally appropriate disposal. The challenge and successful implementation of the SWNP requires the government’s strategic vision and a change in the behaviour of the Brazilian population. This process needs to be built through social debate and engagement of all stakeholders, from the social and economic inclusion of waste pickers in the recycling chain to the real commitment of entrepreneurs, transforming degrading jobs in entrepreneurship, combined with innovation. Despite the fact that the SWNP and other regulatory instruments generically indicate a stimulus to the incorporation of non-virgin raw materials in the production process of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE), no concrete step in this direction has been found yet. The complex nature of the productive chain of electrical and electronic products gives an indication of the interlinked network of inter-relationships of the industrial system involved in it, once it depends on the integration of several industries. In this context, it is important to structure a management model for the reuse of industrial waste, based on the creation of a network – 5Rs Network – that allows to Reduce, Redesign, Recycle, Reuse and Repurpose the waste generated throughout the production cycle of the EEE in the country. This paper reveals which industrial sectors are related to the EEE

Keywords