By Leonardo Neri

Companies that treat waste require environmental licensing, especially industries and companies that store waste in deposits.

Waste treatment involves activities and processes that can have an impact on the environment, such as recycling components and transforming organic matter into compost. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain environmental licensing to ensure that these activities are carried out in a manner that is compatible with regulations and minimizes environmental impacts.

Environmental licensing involves presenting the characteristics of the waste treatment project and assessing the environmental impacts that may arise from its installation and operation.

Furthermore, it is important to demonstrate compliance with environmental legislation and the proposal of environmental control programs to mitigate possible negative impacts.

CONAMA Resolution 237 of 1997 establishes which activities are subject to mandatory environmental licensing. Annex 1 of this resolution specifies that activities such as the treatment and disposal of industrial waste (liquid and solid), treatment/disposal of special waste (such as agrochemicals and used packaging, health service waste, among others) and treatment and disposal of urban solid waste are subject to environmental licensing. Therefore, the company that carries out these waste treatment activities must comply with the environmental licensing requirements to operate legally.

However, due to the shared responsibility expressed in article 30 of Law No. 12,305/10, the trader is responsible for handling this waste, even if he is required to be exempt from presenting an environmental license.

However, preventive measures must be taken, such as presenting the PGRS (Solid Waste Management Plan), under penalty of being fined by regulators, or even being sentenced in court, if the potential for harm to the environment or public health is proven in the use of the material sold.