São Paulo will issue environmental permits based on mitigation plans
Starting this coming June, new and more restrictive requirements will apply in the state of São Paulo to manufacturers whose products generate wastes considered as having significant environmental impact. In addition to all regular requirements for environmental permitting and permit renewal, these companies will also be required to present a plan with goals and collection systems to promote the reverse logistics for proper disposal of wastes.
“This action will certainly foster a great change in processes. It indicates the start of a new relationship between producers and consumers, and alters traditional thinking about product design and cost/investment/return ratios,” said Vinícius Ambrogi, a technical manager at environmental consulting and engineering company Geoklock.
This initiative, unprecedented in the country, may be extended to other Brazilian states. The change was published on April 4th by Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo – Cetesb (the São Paulo state environmental agency), and will be in force as of June 2018.
“This means the permitting process will no longer consider the production process only, but will instead also include effects associated with a product’s lifetime and the raw materials used in making the product. The purpose is clearly to recover the materials; it is an important environmental concern: bringing them back to the production chain, to create a cycle,” added Ambrogi.