A PANORAMA OF SELECTIVE WASTE COLLECTION IN BRAZIL: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS TAKEN FROM 3 CASE-STUDIES

Only 451 (8.2%) Brazilian municipalities have any type of selective waste collection program. This article provides a panorama of these programs, with a particular emphasis on the initiatives in partnership with organized scavengers, an innovative public policy for managing solid waste that promotes social inclusion. The research methodology was based on analysis of secondary data available in technical publications and magazines and primary data obtained from the cases studies (Embu, Santo André and São Bernardo do Campo, all in the State of São Paulo), based on interviews carried out in 2005 with municipal managers of the three programs and representatives from five partner scavenger organizations. The research showed that challenges of a technical, organizational and economic order have to be met in order to consolidate these programs.