Federal Decree No. 10,936/2022 - New National Policy on Solid Waste Regulation

On January 12, 2022, Federal Decree No. 10,936/2022 came into force, regulating Brazil’s Solid Waste National Policy, which was established by Federal Law No. 12,305/2010, and bringing important provisions such as (i) the creation of the National Reverse Logistics Program, an instrument to coordinate and integrate reverse logistics systems by means of the National Information System on Solid Waste Management and the National Plan on Solid Waste; (ii) the reinforcement of equitable supervision of the fulfillment of obligations related to segments in which reverse logistics system(s) already exist (absorbing provisions of Federal Decree No. 9,177/2017); (iii) the obligation to dispose of inflammable hazardous waste via the energy recovery industry, following Brazilian law regarding solid waste management (i.e., non-generation, reduction, reuse, recycling, treatment of solid waste and environmentally appropriate final disposal of waste); (iv) the establishment of the waste transport manifest, a self-declaratory document valid throughout the national territory; and (v) the provision of specific solid waste management plans to micro and small-sized companies, as well as cases of exemption.

The new decree also revoked Federal Decree No. 5,940/2006, which required that federal public administrative bodies separate their recyclable waste before sending solid recyclable waste to recycling associations and recyclable material collectors; Federal Decree No. 7,404/2010, which regulated the Solid Waste National Policy and had created the Solid Waste National Policy Joint Ministerial Committee and the Guiding Committee for the Implementation of Reverse Logistics Systems; the previously mentioned Federal Decree No. 9,177/2017, known as the Isonomy Decree, which established the equitable supervision of reverse logistics obligations compliance; and item IV of Article 5 of Federal Decree No. 10,240/2020, which excluded electronic components not attached to electronic products from reverse logistics obligations.

To summarize, the new decree harmonizes and unifies legal provisions that had been scattered and, at the same time, ratifies concepts and obligations already provided by the Solid Waste National Policy, aiming at properly manage solid waste in the national territory.

The Environmental Team of Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown is available for further clarification.