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    A WEEE Bill for Amazonas

    Saturday, September 26th, 2009

    This week Amazonas (AM) became the latest state in which a bill on  “technological trash” (lixo tecnologico or e-lixo) – the Brazilians nickname for what is known elsewhere as WEEE or e-waste — has been introduced. Unlike bills recently introduced in the northeastern states of Bahia and Pernambuco, which are based primarily on a Law on […]

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    Directional Signals in Brazilian Federal Waste Policy

    Monday, August 17th, 2009

    A body most people have never heard of, part of a larger organization many people do not know or understand, met today and took a series of decisions that will help shape new directions in waste policy in Brazil. The larger organization many do not know and a good many do not understand is Brazil’s […]

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    A Regional Waste Exchange for Central America

    Monday, August 3rd, 2009

    For years I’ve advocated establishing and heavily promoting subregional (or in the case of huge and diverse market of Brazil, at least a national) waste exchanges as one way to promote more reuse and recycling and to minimize wastage.  It certainly makes more sense than national waste exchanges, particularly in the case of a collection […]

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    Ceará Adopts Lamp and Battery Take-Back Law

    Friday, June 19th, 2009

    Yesterday the governor of the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceará (CE) signed a law that would require the take-back of fluorescent lamps, batteries and piles. The very brief and simple law requires vendors of such products in the state to provide collection bins on their premises for consumers to drop off those at the end […]

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    São Paulo Adopts a WEEE Law

    Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

    The state assembly of the state of São Paulo (SP) today passed a law on “technological trash” (lixo tecnológico) that is likely to have a significant impact on the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) product and component business in Brazil. SP is Brazil’s biggest EEE market and home to much of its EEE industry, and […]

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    Oaxaca Gets a Comprehensive Waste Law

    Friday, June 5th, 2009

    The legislature of the Mexican state of Oaxaca (OX) just sent the governor a gift for World Environment Day: a comprehensive state solid waste law. Since Mexico adopted its federal General Law for the Prevention and Integrated Management of Wastes in 2003, the Federal District (DF) and many states have adopted their own general waste […]

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    Espirito Santo Adopts Law on Products Containing Heavy Metals

    Thursday, May 21st, 2009

    Last month Paraná (PR) adopted a law on mercury-containing products, now Espírito Santo (ES) has adopted a law on products containing heavy metals.  Which Brazilian state is next, and will it adopt PR’s single-substance approach, or ES’ broader wider net? Points of Confusion Article 1 of the brief ES law requires “suppliers” and distributors of […]

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    Paraná Adopts Take-Back Law for Mercury-Containing Products

    Saturday, April 18th, 2009

    Earlier this month the governor of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná (PR) signed a brief law that would require the take-back of fluorescent lamps, piles, cell phone batteries “and other artefacts” that contain metallic mercury. Who Collects? The law requires resellers of such products in the state to provide suitable collection bins on their […]

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    CEMIG Considers Electric Cars for Its Fleet

    Thursday, March 26th, 2009

    If you’ve been reading The Temas Blog for awhile, you might recall a prior post about the efforts of the hydropower firm Itaipu Binacional (IB) and FIAT to create an electric vehicle (built at facilities by the giant Itapu Dam) appropriate for Brazil and its MERCOSUR partners (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay).  Now comes word that the […]

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    Government Study Calls for Mexican Battery Regulation / Estudio recomenda normatividad sobre las pilas en México

    Friday, March 13th, 2009

    Mexico’s National Ecology Institute (INE) has just released an “environmental diagnosis” of portable batteries in that country. The study looks at the growth of battery consumption in Mexico, a recent analysis of the chemical composition of both formal and informal (“pirate”) batteries (looking particularly at heavy metal content and any other aspects that may make […]

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