Solid waste management and the importance of reverse logistics

The current consumer society has generated more and more solid waste resulting from the accelerated consumption of goods and services, discarding it in the environment, polluting the soil and the water by direct disposal, and the air by indiscriminate burning. Moreover, it promotes improper accumulation as a focus for the proliferation of vectors, spreading diseases, constituting one of the most serious environmental problems in the country. The environmental legislation and, in particular, the law 12.305 of 2010, the National Policy on Solid Waste (PNRS) establishes the guidelines and obligations for the generators of solid waste, highlighting the municipal responsibility for those of domestic urban waste. The objective of this work is to analyze the situation of the final disposal of these wastes in Brazil and in Minas Gerais, evaluating whether the PNRS provisions, especially reverse logistics, are being effective. One of the innovative instruments of the PNRS is Reverse Logistics, which establishes the shared responsibility of all links in the chain for the return of post-consumer products, from the consumer to the manufacturer. The method used was descriptive deductive, enabling the conclusion that despite the relevant legislation, its implementation still presents timid results, given the omission of the government.