Coleta seletiva e reciclagem como instrumentos para conservação ambiental: um estudo de caso em Uberlândia, MG, Brasil

Abstract

One of the biggest problems of urban centers is the final disposal of waste, the capitalist system makes this situation worse. In Brazil, around 47.450 thousand tons of waste are produced per year. Nearly 30,5% of this waste are disposed in open air dumps, which represent the worst way of waste disposal and cause great environmental impact. Separate collection and material recycling are between the principal solutions to this problem. This study aims to determine the quantity of collected materials from a separate collection company from the city of Uberlândia (MG) and to evaluate the environmental gains from this process. From February 2001 to December 2004, the activities carried out by the company were accompanied by the researcher, who also had access to the data archives and registers regarding to the separation, classification and weight of recyclable materials (documental research). This data were used to calculate the potential savings in terms of energy and natural resources (water and virgin material). In total, there were 4.727,74 t. of recyclable materials collected, with an annual average of 1.181,94 t. The mean weight of aluminum deviated from the landfill was 8,22 t. per year, this may provide a bauxite saving of 41,1 t. The mean weight of recyclable paper was 804,26 t. This amount allows an average production of 670,22 t. of recycled paper and a water saving of 19.571,63 thousand of liters. The average of plastic was 369,51 t per year. We remind that plastics recycling provides saving of an important non-renewable resource: oil. The results indicate that the separate collection and materials recycling may offer significant economics and environmental gains to the city of Uberlândia.