Brazil raises import tax on solid waste

The Brazilian government will levy an 18 percent tax on imports of solid waste starting in August, the Development, Industry and Trade Ministry announced Tuesday.    

Currently, imports of paper and glass waste are effectively untaxed, with a 0 percent rate, while plastic waste imports are subjected to an 11.2 percent levy. The new rate, set by the Chamber of Foreign Trade, will come into effect from August 1. Colorless glass waste will not be affected by the new tax rate.

The measure aims to strengthen the domestic recycling chain and minimize the impact of solid waste products on the environment. A working group set up to assess these concerns found that imports of paper and glass waste grew 109.4 percent and 73.3 percent, respectively, between 2019 and 2022, while imports of plastic waste increased by a more modest 7.2 percent.

“This increase in solid waste imports has the potential to affect the sales price of these recyclable materials sold by individual waste pickers in Brazil, who end up giving up their activity,” the ministry notes, adding that this disruption to local recycling chains has negative ramifications socially as well as environmentally.

An estimated 800,000 people make a living as waste pickers in Brazil, according to the National Movement of Recyclable Waste Pickers, of which 70 percent are women.

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