Consumidor enquanto gerador de resíduos: a proteção do meio ambiente e dos direitos dos consumidores a partir da interpretação recíproca entre as políticas nacionais das relações de consumo e dos resíduos sólidos

Abstract

The present work deals with the themes of consumption and the environment. Its purpose is to study the recognition by the National Policy of Solid Waste – NPSW, of the consumer as a generator of waste, requiring a reciprocal interpretation between that Policy and the National Consumer Relations Policy – NCRP. The act of consuming ceased to be associated only with essential human needs. Such needs have come to be composed of some wills and interests created by the market itself. In addition, consumption is considered as a form of social insertion. This situation boosts consumption in such a way that it becomes the main human activity. The impacts of this practice are felt in other spheres, and especially on the environment. Consumer relations become increasingly individualistic, but their effects are felt collectively. There is particularization of benefits and sharing of costs, since the effects are not restricted only to those involved in the relation of consumption. Such effects generate externalities that mitigate this perception of consumer relation, as well as recognizes that the said relation should not be analyzed under the merely economic bias.This thesis establishes a closer look at the large generation of waste caused by consumption, which leads the NPSW to consider the consumer as responsible in a shared way, since it is considered by the aforementioned policy as a generator of solid waste. In spite of this, and taking into account the form of that the market behaves in relation to the consumer, it does not lose its inherent characteristic, that is, vulnerability. In view of this, it is necessary to make feasible the NPSW proposal, which seeks to considerably reduce the final destination of waste, giving them a destination that reinserts them in the market. In order to do so, consumer participation is fundamental, so it is necessary that reading the Policy that establishes the guidelines for consumer relations considers the consumer as a generator of waste, just as the NPSW needs to consider the consumer law as a protective diploma. This interface between the NPSW and the NCRP leads to the realization that, faced with the existence of a consumer society that needs to change its attitude towards the environment and, specifically, solid waste, the consumer is required to take responsibility generated waste, but ensuring its protection through the principles and instruments established in both policies.