Coleta seletiva em Uberlândia (MG) sob a ótica da Psicologia Ambiental: perspectivas para o fortalecimento da gestão integrada dos resíduos sólidos

Abstract

The generation of solid waste has become an increasingly complex and urgent issue. Population growth, coupled with the intensification of economic activity, has increased waste generation, often without the infrastructure required for its proper disposal. The presence of waste in space is not limited to a technical management problem but reflects deeper fractures in the relationship between society and nature, compromising environmental quality, the aesthetics of the landscape, and the symbolic bond between individuals and place. In this context, selective collection constitutes a central component of Integrated Solid Waste Management, although its effectiveness cannot be explained solely by the existence of infrastructure, regulations, or informational campaigns. In the municipality of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, despite the expansion of the service's territorial coverage, public adherence remains limited, as evidenced by the continued disposal of recyclable waste through conventional waste collection and sanitary landfilling. Based on this observation, the primary objective of this doctoral thesis is to understand the factors that influence public adherence to selective collection in the municipality of Uberlândia in 2024. The research demonstrates that adherence to selective collection is not primarily the result of isolated individual decisions but rather the expression of a person–environment relational system, in which spatial, institutional, educational, and psychological dimensions shape pro-environmental behavior. The methodological procedures included bibliographic, documentary, and field research, using institutional data and statistical information. Thematic maps were produced based on secondary data obtained from official sources using QGIS software, focusing on variables such as service coverage, population density, and waste collection infrastructure. In addition, intensive direct observations and exploratory semi-structured interviews were conducted through a questionnaire with 34 participants selected for their representativeness in the municipal selective collection process from a population of 166 workers involved in the program. The findings reveal a mismatch between the available infrastructure and its effective appropriation by citizens, indicating that low adherence to the service is not primarily explained by a lack of knowledge or information. The strengthening of Environmental Education, by incorporating psychological dimensions related to perception, values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, cognition, and cognitive heuristics, proved to be decisive in shaping pro environmental behavior, thereby promoting greater public adherence to selective collection. Furthermore, factors associated with accessibility, visibility, environmental setting, and other environmental attributes of the service infrastructure, when designed to account for the environmental stimuli that shape individual behavior, also tend to increase the likelihood of public adherence. Therefore, public adherence to selective collection depends on the articulation between the structural conditions of space and the psychological processes associated with person–environment interaction. Accordingly, increasing adherence to selective collection requires strategies that integrate Environmental Education, the reorganization of spatial and institutional contexts, and interventions grounded in the principles of Environmental Psychology. By highlighting the centrality of the person environment relationship in solid waste management, this thesis contributes to advancing discussions on public policies and to building more consistent pathways toward the transformation of mindset.