The importance of recycling Date: 09/13/2004 Gerhard Erich Boehme Brazil plays T

he 5.8 billion reais a year in the trash. The observation made by economist Shab
bethai Calderon is staggering as is 17 times the budget allocated to the Ministr
y of Environment. For the chemical engineer and manager, Gerhard Erich Boehme, a
consultant with Consulting Boehme Brazil, this is the result of an incipient en
vironmental education policy, which makes much of the population treat with cont
empt the culture of the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle . Currently, the most com
petitive organizations are focused on results, believe that only positive result
s and allow increased continuity and business expansion. The practice has proved
to be the only exit to the organizations and this is the fact that, if not foll
owed, will inevitably break down and stop contributing to his primary role of so
cial responsibility: that is to generate jobs, and to serve the market with thei
r goods and services. It is the only viable approach, especially in a country wh
ere the organizations and the entire society is suffering from excessive taxatio
n, which has long surpassed the realm of rational and bearable. In this scenario
, the relentless pursuit of profits, the leader in productivity and operational
efficiency - resulting from a focus on management, risk control and financial di
scipline - must therefore be key objectives. In search of excellence are applied
tools that aim to leverage these results. Unfortunately, the result perhaps of
myopia administrative leave or even many organizations do not implement tools th
at create the necessary basis for success, many of these tools are simple, easy
to be deployed and implemented and most importantly, quickly produce results. Am
ong them we cite the program 8S (http://www.boehme.com.br/8sensos.htm), the cult
ure of 3R, the Cleaner Production and Integration of environmental aspects in de
sign and product development. A Program 8S should have national coverage, mainly
to be applied in various public entities, where management practices are virtua
lly unknown and little used. Unfortunately adopt management practices is not the
strong public administration, just see the reality of several Brazilian cities,
only about 5% of them have their Agenda 21 and just over 1% effectively impleme
nted. Our representatives in the legislative, executive and even the judiciary,
are hardly touched by the problems of Brazilian society. Are more concerned to d
efend their personal interests when they do not adopt the usual practices as pat
ronage and nepotism, as present in the Brazilian public administration. In the c
ase of adopting the culture of the 3R, measures not only recyclable generate ben
efits for the economy, but large gains in environmental quality, which have repe
rcussions on the entire society.
Examples: Each ton of recycled paper is 3 cubic meters of space in landfills. Th
e energy saved by recycling one glass bottle is enough to keep a 100 W bulb for
four hours. By recycling one aluminum can save up enough to keep connected to a
television for three hours. 1 tonne of paper recycled means savings of three euc
alyptus trees and 32 pine trees used in pulp production. In the manufacture of o
ne ton of recycled paper are only required 2000 liters of water, whereas in the
traditional process that volume can reach 100 thousand liters per tonne. Brazil
only recycles about 30% of its paper consumption. Glass is 100% recyclable and B
razil recycles only about 14.2% of glass that produces and consumes.
The question remains: What is the justification for not investing in these and o
ther basic management practices?
If we make a survey of the population, asking what comes to be 3R, certainly mos
t do not know answer. Outcome of an environmental education incipient or not eff
ective
The culture of the 3Rs: â ¢ Reduce - use less is crucial. Today, Brazil produces 8
8 million tons of waste per year, about 440 pounds per capita; â ¢ Reuse - is impo
ssible to reduce to zero waste generation. But much of what we throw away should
be better recycled. Glass bottles and jars and cardboard boxes can be helpful a
t home or in the recycling industries. And the fate of leftovers, like bark and
leaves, had to be composted; â ¢ Recycle - the "err" best known is synonymous with
 saving raw materials. Glass, paper, plastic and metal represent on average 50%
of waste going to landfill. Moreover, recycling could become money.€Economist S
habbethai Calderoni, the Center for Strategic Policies, USP and author of The Mi
ssing Billions in the Trash, estimated at 5.8 billion reais a year total that Br
azil fails to collect recyclable materials. A fortune equivalent to seventeen ti
mes the budget of the Ministry of Environment. Principles a) Reduce - the produc
tion of waste;
b) Reuse - materials (where possible), c) Recycle - what can not be reduced or r
eused.
How to Reduce? Produce less waste. Companies can make it through the manufacture
of packaging lighter, with less expenditure of energy and natural resources, wi
th smaller or avoid waste. Reversing the questionable practice of organizations
selling products with increasingly less content. Ex: In 2003 Nestlé left to sel
l his chocolate 500g, placing on the market Nescau 400g. Facts like these happen
frequently, with all the natural passivity of Brazilian consumers, who have pas
sed the mandatory requirement to purchase more packages. Practice reprehensible
and sadly accepted by Brazilian authorities.
Consumers must have green behaviors: avoid buying rolls of aluminum and plastic,
avoid use of paper tableware and / or plastic; avoid unnecessary plastic bags a
nd / or paper (prefer the cloth); flatten or crush containers to achieve A signi
ficant reduction in the volume of waste. Avoid consuming unnecessary; Use towels
and cloth napkins instead of paper; Anyway, ... , Always reject whatever is to
use once only, not to use additives for laundry and dishwashing machines. Each f
requency is already composed of several elements, which already contains the sof
tener, softeners, bleach, etc.. When shopping bag to take your home resistant to
re-use, Choose packages for which there is a package tour of recycling; Buy onl
y the necessary medicines, at his bathroom, say no to disposable products with a
lternatives durable. Eg electric razors; Teach your children to resist the effec
ts of fashion, using the clothes to the end; Instead of felt tip pens, colored p
encils or buy wax for their children, which are used in full. What is the enviro
nmental quality? Why Reuse? It means giving new uses for materials already in us
e, returning to use them. Encourage companies to produce packages that have a se
cond destination. Eg cup curd. Lack of creativity packaging industry. How can we
reuse?
use the back of sheets of paper written on one side, to notebooks and diaries. e
mpty bottles of glass or plastic and cans may be used to store pens, sewing equi
pment, materials, tools, grain, or for decoration. clothing and household object
s such as furniture, appliances and toys can be delivered to Charities or sold a
s used items. Delivered in Social Centers or Golden Age, Hospitals and Schools,
magazines or books that will drop. How to Recycle? To be more efficient recyclin
g, the waste can not be mixed or dirty. paper must be removed the staples, tapes
, plastics and others of glass packaging, plastic or metal must be removed the l
abels, lids, corks or bottlenecks, and wash them; should taper to the packages (
compact ). If you have a yard or garden, learn to make "compost" (soil correctiv
e) with the remains of organic matter. Gerhard Erich Boehme Boehme gerhard@boehm
e.com.br Brazil Consulting www.boehme.com.br