Análise do Ciclo de Vida na Gestão de Resíduos Sólidos: estudo de caso do Núcleo do Bairro dos Estados do Programa de Coleta Seletiva do município de João Pessoa/PB, Brasil

Abstract

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a methodology that allows assessing the environmental behavior of a specific product or service, in order to identify the opportunities of improvement and its environmental impact. The waste polluting potential varies according to the techniques adopted in each stage of the management and the composition of the material. This study aimed to assess the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) in João Pessoa/PB-Brasil, focusing on the environmental analysis of selective collection program in Bairro dos Estados’ material recovery facility in 2015. The analysis was based on LCA methodology which processed data collected from the Special Agency of Urban Sanitation (EMLUR) using the SimaPro 8.1 software. LCA enabled to assess the impacts on eutrophication, acidification, photochemical oxidation, depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. The results showed that the selective collection system has minimized impacts of eutrophication and acidification. However it contributes to the global warming, photochemical oxidation and depletion of the ozone layer. Increasing the amount of recyclable materials sent to recycling, optimizing the system logistic and finding alternatives for organic material sent to landfill will likely reduce the environmental impacts. Therefore, various segments of society should commit themselves to consolidate the practice of selective collection, by previously separating the waste at source and economically strengthening waste pickers association to be independent of public intervention or intermediaries’ rules.