A coleta seletiva na cidade de Porto Alegre : uma visão sobre meio ambiente, economia e renda dos catadores

Abstract

Incorrect waste disposal cause a number of adverse impacts to the environment such as soil degradation, contamination of groundwater and an increase of the area for waste disposal. Given the current need for the reuse of products that reached the end of their useful life and the possibility of adding value to them, recycling is an important alternative to the society. The objective of this study is to analyze the process of selective garbage collection in the city of Porto Alegre-RS in economic, social and environmental dimensions. This paper presents a brief review on recycling which was produced through bibliographic search and a survey done with recyclable materials collectors who act in Sorting Units in Porto Alegre. It was found, based on the experiences of the respondents, the relationship between environmental education activities and the quality of waste which arrives for sorting as a condition able to provide an increase in garbage collectors income or job offerings. In this field research, it was applied 225 questionnaires with closed questions, answered by 64.8% of the Sorting Units members. We note that recycling from selective garbage collection is an excellent alternative to the reduction of the disposal of post-consumer materials. In addition, the results indicate that 75.8% of respondents receive, monthly, a minimum salary, and that an increase of recycled materials provides higher income and represents improvements in their social status. The survey also reveals that, in the opinion of 44.2% of the respondents, more than 30% of the materials sent for sorting cannot be recycled as a result of incorrect disposal and contamination. We investigate that for 87.2% of the participants, the expansion of an environmental education program could improve the behavior of the population in the separation of waste, growing the percentage of reuse. We conclude that the development of solid waste policies will bring economic and social benefits to garbage collectors