Burn Them All? An Introduction to Waste Incineration Law in Brazil and Japan

Japan and Brazil handle household waste differently. While Japan prioritizes incineration, Brazil directly landfills most of waste. Japan’s waste regulation dates back from 1900. Ever since, municipalities have been responsible for handling domestic waste. Incineration was prioritized for sanitary reasons. From 1960s, there are emergency budget provisions aimed at building infrastructure to address sanitary issues, including residues management. As a result, there is currently a widespread network of incinerators, which must be authorized by the prefectural administration. Although national level legislation does not demand environmental impact assessment (EIA), environmental issues must be taken into consideration. Finally, stakeholders have the right to submit their opinion about the facility. In Brazil, the first provision on waste regulation dates back to the 1950s. A sole article demanded waste to be adequately disposed. Constitutions made municipalities in charge of handling domestic waste. Although landfills spread throughout the country, unlawful ones (lixões) are used by most of municipalities. There is regulation on incineration at the federal level and the national waste policy law recognizes it as one of the adequate methods for waste treatment. Incineration plants are subject to EIA and public hearings. There are not considerable differences on regulation that make incineration preferred in Japan and rejected in Brazil. It is likely that one of the reasons for such difference is a matter of mindset: Brazilians seem to be against burning waste. There is an argument according to which incinerators may reduce the amount of recyclables to be handed by waste pickers. However, Japan’s recycling rate is much higher than that of Brazil. Therefore, landfilling does not necessarily make ends meet for waste pickers. Brazil should not be blind to any method or technology of waste treatment or final disposal.