Government foresees investment of R$ 14 billion for the activity

“Reverse logistics are essential for the world we want, where nothing is wasted and everything is recycled or reused. The creation of this certificate came at a good time, as the formalization will speed up and facilitate the achievement of solid waste policy goals, in addition to increasing the number of agents interested in operating in the recycling chain. So, the document recognizes the role of cooperativism and at the same time grants additional benefits to the cooperative members. It is definitely a big step forward.”

The considerations of the president of the OCB System, Márcio Lopes de Freitas, refer to the Presidential Decree 11.044/22, signed on Wednesday (13), to institute the Recycling Credit Certificate, or Recicla+. The rule was published alongside Decree 11.043/22, which established the National Solid Waste Program (Planares), in a ceremony at the Planalto Palace.

Planares will be conducted by the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) and is part of the strategy to make the National Solid Waste Policy (Law 12,305/10) more effective through goals, projects and actions for the next two decades, with updates on the goals every four years.

As for Recicla+, the Recycling Credit Certificate will be the mechanism of transparency and compliance, where cooperatives of collectors, municipalities, consortia, private initiative and individual microentrepreneurs (MEI) will be able, from the electronic invoice issued for the sale of recyclables, to request the certificate.

The process of approval and issuance of certificates will have an independent verifier, which will guarantee the veracity, authenticity and uniqueness of the invoice, as well as the traceability of the material collected, allowing the attestation of the return of the material to the production cycle. Each ton is equivalent to a credit, which can be sold to companies that need to prove that reverse logistics goals have been met.

According to Minister Joaquim Leite, the changes bring “more legal certainty and predictability for investors to develop physical and logistical infrastructure to improve solid waste management such as recycling, reuse and transformation of all this into a relevant green activity for Brazil” .

The formalization of the agents who work in recycling is a highlight, since the document revealed that only 3.7% of the municipalities have a formal contract with workers who work in the activity. One of Planares’ goals is to formalize 95% of contracts with cooperatives and collectors’ associations by 2040.

The government estimates an investment of R$ 14 billion per year for the recycling sector with the implementation of certification. According to the new rule, collectors’ cooperatives, municipalities, consortia, private initiative and individual microentrepreneurs (MEI) can request the document, which issue the electronic invoice for the sale of recyclables. By 2040 the program intends to recycle 48% of waste (currently only 3% is recovered). It still wants to reach 72.6%, with selective collection; charge for waste management in 100% of cities; and recover 45% of packaging through reverse logistics. By 2036, the goal is to universalize the collection of household waste and increase the recycling rate to 22% of the waste that can be reused.

For 2024, the goal is to properly dispose of garbage in 100% of the municipalities, putting an end to the three thousand dumps spread across the country.

During the ceremony, a new version of the National Information System on Solid Waste Management (Sinir+) was also launched, which has 3D maps, panels and reports with data on waste management across the country. The idea is to transform what was considered a problem into income. By correlation, the System also meets the policies provided for in the Legal Framework for Sanitation (Law 14.026/20).