Gestão ambiental dos resíduos sólidos no município de Pombal - PB: uma análise jurídico-institucional.

Abstract

The environmental public civil action is a procedural instrument that assists in the development of solid waste management, helping the municipal administrator comply with the guidelines of the National Solid Waste Policy. The research aimed to analyze the environmental public civil actions filed by the State Public Prosecutor's Office against the Municipality of Pombal regarding the improper disposal of solid waste, originating from civil inquiry No. 005.2012.000360, to eliminate the Pombal landfill. Regarding the methodology, the hermeneutic-systemic and inductive methods were used. By analyzing the lawsuits, the research identified the main acts, documents, and decisions employed in the process, as well as extrajudicial acts carried out during the course of the proceedings that help enforce these legal actions. This approach allowed for the collection of data on environmental management concerning the final disposal of solid waste. The research also employed the bibliographic research technique, utilizing national and international legislation, legal and non-legal books, doctrines, articles, monographs, journals, newspapers, electronic networks, theses, and dissertations. Additionally, field research was conducted through questionnaires with open and closed questions directed at the administrators of the Municipality of Pombal, such as the mayor and the Secretaries of Environment and Infrastructure, as well as professors from the Environmental Engineering Program at the Center for Agro-Food Science and Technology of the Federal University of Campina Grande, Pombal Campus, and recyclable material collectors working on the streets of Pombal – PB. The research results show that the environmental public civil action can hold the environmental administrator accountable for environmental damages; however, compliance with this obligation resulted from actions taken within the Public Prosecutor's Office. This procedural instrument has a partial impact on resolving the final disposal of solid waste by imposing on Pombal’s municipal management the adoption of palliative and insufficient measures to change the structure of the municipality’s environmental management. Recyclable material collectors, in turn, see organization as the motivating factor for improving work quality. The interviewed professors highlighted the lack of professional qualification among municipal administrators, which leads to difficulties in developing proper environmental management. They propose the development of environmental education programs and partnerships with the university as a way to assist in solid waste management in the municipality of Pombal. In practice, the research results can serve as a model to influence other legal actions with the same objective. Finally, the research is innovative because it comprehensively covers all public civil actions and measures filed against the Municipality of Pombal to ensure the proper disposal of its solid waste.