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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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    A New Twist to Recyclables for Electricity Programs

    Monday, September 21st, 2009

    I’ve posted in the past about innovative Brazilian programs in the states of Ceará (CE), Mato Grosso (MT) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ) to get people to turn in recyclables in exchange for getting a reduction in their monthly electric power bill.  One of the programs I liked was Consciência EcoAmpla, run by Endesa‘s subsidiary […]

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    Rio Adopts Law on Used Oil and Motor Oil Filters

    Friday, September 18th, 2009

    The governor of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) state today signed a law regarding the final disposition of used lubricating oils and their filters.  The new law, rather short and simple, does four things: limits the sale of lubricating oils to those establishments equipped with “an adequate area” and “necessary specific equipment” for the collection of […]

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    A Green IT Law for Brazil?

    Thursday, August 27th, 2009

    Yesterday the Environment Committee and Consumer Protection (CMA) of the Brazilian Senate discussed a draft committee opinion on a green IT bill just introduced last May.  The committee rapporteur for Senate bill (PLS) 173/2009 recommended its approval. The CMA decided to hold a hearing on the bill before deciding on the draft opinion, with invitations […]

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    Acordo Mineiro Sobre a Gestão de Resíduos Eletroeletrônicos

    Thursday, August 13th, 2009

    Desde a Fundação Estadual do Meio Ambiente (FEAM): Acordo irá incrementar ações de gestão de resíduos eletroeletrônicos Previsto para acontecer ao longo de 2010, o projeto estabelecerá uma parceria, inicialmente, com 25 empresas que irão repassar equipamentos como computadores, telefones, celulares e impressoras em desuso para a Feam, que dentro do projeto 3RsPCs – Resíduos […]

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    An E-Waste Bill for Bahia

    Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

    I’m on vacation in the Caribbean, with limited internet access (and a damaged laptop) and in any case supposedly ignoring my inbox and not posting.  But I peeked at the web version of my inbox using a relative’s laptop and, seeing a note on this, could not resist a quick post. It shows something I […]

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    From Used Balloons and Gloves to New Rubber Products

    Sunday, July 5th, 2009

    Researchers from the Forest Products Laboratory (LPF) of Brazil’s Forestry Service (SFB) have demonstrated that they can recycle used latex gloves and party balloons by combining them with sawdust, in the process turning them into floor tiles, shoe soles, floor mats and other rubber artifacts. The cost of producing a floor sheet from these wastes […]

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    Trash Photos XIX: A Visit to Minas’ Center on Waste

    Thursday, June 25th, 2009

    Yesterday I visited an institution in Belo Horizonte (BH) that, to my knowledge, is unique in Brazil, if not the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).   The Minas Waste Reference Center (Centro Mineiro de Referência em Resíduos – CMRR) opened in 2007 with the mission to serve as the focal point in the […]

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    Computer Take-Back in Rio de Janeiro / A Lei Sobre E-lixo do Municipio de Rio de Janeiro

    Monday, June 22nd, 2009

    Last week the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (MRJ) (population 6 million) became the first major Brazilian city to adopt an e-waste law.  The law is rather short and simple.  It requires manufacturers and suppliers of computers to receive in their offices, branches or headquarters in the City “obsolete” computers discarded by consumers.  The Law defines […]

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    Trash Photos XVII: Color-Coded Selective Collection

    Monday, June 15th, 2009

    Today I interviewed someone in the University of São Paulo’s (USP) Public Health Faculty (FSP) (the lead author in a study about catadores, as a matter of fact) and I spotted this in the mini-park in front of the building. These days it’s not hard to find color-coded collection bins in Brazil, particularly in the […]

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