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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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    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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    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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    Finally, a Chance for a Global Mercury Accord / Por fin, un chance para un acuerdo global sobre el mercurio

    Saturday, February 21st, 2009

    When the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Governing Council (GC) considered and agreed on the draft decision on chemicals management, including mercury, this past Thursday, I was in the room. It’s difficult to say which emotion filled the conference room more — joy or excitement. There was plenty of both. This decision had been many years […]

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    A Unique Environmental Institution

    Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

    Right 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 […]

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    Minas’ New State Waste Law Features Take-Back

    Sunday, January 18th, 2009

    Last 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 […]

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    One of the Biggest Collectors of Spent Batteries in Brazil

    Monday, January 12th, 2009

    If you thought the title of this post refered to one of the battery manufacturers or a major retail chain such as Wal-Mart or Carrefour, think again. It’s a bank. Banco Real, part of the Santander Group, collected 127 metric tons (mT) in 2008 — 70 mT in just São Paulo (SP) state itself.  Banco […]

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