A gestão sustentável de resíduos sólidos urbanos com base na avaliação do ciclo de vida social: um estudo de caso na cidade de Campina Grande-PB.

Abstract

Municipal solid waste management poses a challenge for municipalities, particularly given the need to integrate the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability. In this context, Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) emerges as an approach capable of broadening the understanding of social aspects related to waste management systems. This dissertation aimed to analyze municipal solid waste management in Campina Grande, Paraíba (PB), through the lens of S-LCA, integrating scientific and empirical evidence to understand its social aspects and propose guidelines aimed at strengthening social sustainability. The research was structured into three complementary articles. The first conducted a bibliometric analysis of scientific literature indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases; the second carried out a qualitative case study involving document analysis, technical visits, and direct observation of the waste picker organizations under study; and the third integrated scientific, documentary, and empirical evidence to propose guidelines applicable to the municipal context. The results of the first article highlighted the growing scientific interest in applying S-LCA to municipal solid waste management, as well as the diversity of approaches and geographic contexts within this field of research. In Campina Grande, PB, the results demonstrated the importance of waste picker organizations for selective waste collection, the recovery of recyclable materials, and the generation of employment and income; however, they also revealed weaknesses regarding infrastructure, logistics and transport, work organization and conditions, socio-productive inclusion, institutional coordination, and occupational health and safety. The integration of evidence enabled the proposal of guidelines organized into five axes—infrastructure; work organization; socio-productive inclusion; governance and institutional coordination; and occupational health and safety—accompanied by performance indicators to support the future monitoring of actions and the strengthening of selective waste collection. It is concluded that the social sustainability of urban solid waste management requires that the recognition of the importance of waste pickers be accompanied by concrete working conditions, professional recognition, inclusion, and participation. The ACVS contributes to broadening the understanding of this social dimension, while the proposed guidelines and indicators provide a basis for planning and evaluating public actions and policies aimed at strengthening social sustainability and municipal selective waste collection.