Implementation of Urban Organic Waste Collection and Treatment System in a Brazilian Municipality: An Analysis Based on a Socio-technical Transition Theory

Abstract

The circular economy concept has been gaining ground and changing assumptions regarding the linear approach view of waste. In Brazil, Law N. 12.305/2010, which established the Solid Waste National Policy (SWNP), stipulates that Federal States and Municipalities must draw up waste management plans to encourage the recyclable and compostable fraction of the urban waste to be valued. However, the implementation of an organic waste collection and treatment system – to recover the value of organic waste in urban centers meeting the health and safety requirements and at the same time optimizing public investments – has been one of the crucial aspects in the municipal waste management plans. The success of such a system also depends on the effective participation of the citizens and on the municipal policy changes. On the basis of a socio-technical transition theory, we highlight the importance of several innovations brought by incumbents and niche actors to the process of transition toward a more sustainable urban management system in Florianopolis, a city in Southern Brazil. The municipal holder of waste management public services, COMCAP, incrementally reoriented the regime and adjusted its action to consider social and educational aspects over time. In 1986, it was the pioneer to adopt the selective collection of dry recyclables in Brazil and composting initiatives in poor communities. Partnerships with other actors lead to outstanding initiatives, such as composting projects in a community, which was recognized as a practice in agroecology at the occasion of the International Green Week and the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture. In 2021, COMCAP was the first company to implement an organic waste door-to-door collection system. Understanding how the implementation of this system occurred from a multilevel perspective contributes to other municipalities in starting a transition process toward a more sustainable model based on circular economic concepts. The impacts of these changes on the achievement of some Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations are also addressed in this chapter.