Evaluation of municipal solid waste management in the state of Amazonas

Abstract

The improper management of solid waste and the absence of resources and environmental education software are threatening the rivers of the Amazon region, that together form the greater freshwater basin in the world. In these terms, the general objective of this research is to evaluate the current situation of the management of urban solid waste in the cities of that state. The present research is organised in bibliographic and documental search, characterization of the area of investigation, and elaboration and application of questionnaires for data collection. Of the 62 towns that belongs to the territory of Amazonas, the research has collected information about 31, which corresponds to 50% of the area of investigation. The results indicate that 68% of the cities have the Municipal Plan for Integrated Solid Waste Management, while 32% did not elaborate their plans, failing to receive resources of the Federal Government which would be destined specifically to the services of management and operation of the solid waste. It was observed similar characteristics in the cities that did not have their plans elaborated, being all of minor size and located in isolated areas of the Amazon region, with access only by transport by river, fact that complicates the actions pertinent to the theme, as occurs with the final disposition of the solid waste. Among the cities that were investigated, none of them arrange their solid waste in appropriate environmentally conditions, prevailing the archaic way of disposal, the open sky landfills, that causes the degradation of the ground and hydric bodies, which are the top means of subsistence of the amazon population. The conclusion is that the management of solid waste represents one of the biggest challenges of basic sanitation in the state of Amazonas and such matter requires to be prioritized urgently, given the risk of the degradation of the natural resources of the region.