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Loading ...A Unique Environmental Institution
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009Right now, until 05 February, environmental groups across Brazil are electing their representatives on the National Environment Council (Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente – CONAMA). The more than 500 environment nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the Environment Ministry’s (MMA) National Registry of Environmental Entities (Cadastro Nacional de Entidades Ambientalistas – CNEA) are voting for which individuals […]
Minas’ New State Waste Law Features Take-Back
Sunday, January 18th, 2009Last week the governor of Minas Gerais (MG) signed the State Solid Waste Policy Law. The Law’s 57 articles establish the principles, guidelines, goals and instruments for the correct management of waste, and defines the obligations of different waste generators and the users of urban sanitation services. Minas is not the first Brazilian state to […]
Minas Trumpets Its Waste Policy Achievements
Saturday, December 27th, 2008Minas Gerais, Brazil’s second most populous state and one of its mining, metals and agriculture powerhouses, is pretty proud of its recent accomplishments in waste policy and management. I’ve chronicled here a couple of their steps, such as the modernized inspection/enforcement regime and the creation of the Waste Reference Center (CMRR). But that only touches […]
A Solid Waste Plan for Costa Rica
Friday, July 18th, 2008Recently Costa Rica was presented its long-awaited Solid Waste Plan (PRESOL) by the entities belonging to the Inter-Institutional Platform of the Competitiveness and Environment Program (CYMA): the Health Ministry (MinSalud), the Planning Ministry (Mideplan), the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Institute for Municipal Development and Advice (Instituto de Fomento y Asesoria Municipal – […]
Mato Grosso’s E-Waste Law / A Lei de Mato Grosso Sobre E-lixo
Sunday, June 1st, 2008Last month, while The Temas Blog was still on hiatus, the central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso (MT) became the first Latin American jurisdiction to pass a specific law on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), or “technological trash” (lixo tecnológico) as Brazilians tend to call it.* The new law creates a take-back regime and […]
Minas Seeks Packaging Waste Dialogue with Tetra-Pak
Friday, September 28th, 2007Paraná forced a deal on Tetra Pak regarding waste from its long-life packaging (aseptic) packaging; now Minas Gerais (MG) wants a dialog about the same issue. If I were Tetra Pak executives, I’d start being concerned about the direction the drink packaging waste issue is taking in Brazil (if they aren’t already). As I mentioned […]
BNDES Creates R$200 mil. Program to Stimulate Carbon Credits
Monday, June 11th, 2007From the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES): BNDES creates BRL 200 million program to encourage negotiation of carbon credits Funds will be placed in mutual participation funds in companies that adopt clean technologies BNDES created a new program to encourage ventures that adopt clean technologies, fomenting the generation of carbon credits in the […]
Tetra-Pak Given 60 Days to Propose Packaging Waste Solution… Or Else!
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007Synopsis in English: In a meeting held in Curitiba in the middle of May, the government of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná gave Tetra-Pak executives (including the Vice President for Central and South America) 60 days to come up with their own proposal to solve the post-consumer waste problem in that state associated with […]
Serra’s 21 Strategic Environmental Projects for São Paulo
Monday, April 9th, 2007On 02 April the new Governor of São Paulo, José Serra [Brazilian Social Democratic Party (Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira – PSDB)], announced a series of 21 “strategic environmental projects” he said will guide his Administration and help one of Latin America’s biggest economies — and still the industrial and agricultural powerhouse of Brazil (accounting […]
RJ State Seeks to End Era of Municipal Dumps
Monday, April 2nd, 2007Synopsis in English: The State Secretary for the Environment (SEA) of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) state, Carlos Minc, has announced a new program aimed at ending once and for all the era of uncontrolled municipal trash dumps in that state. The program would form regional consortia of municipalities that would a shared sanitary landfill constructed […]