THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND ITS RELATION WITH THE BRAZILIAN NATIONAL SOLID WASTE POLICY: INNOVATION OR A RISK OF RECYCLING POLICIES THAT REMAINED ON PAPER?

Abstract

Implementing environmental public policies in Brazil has become increasingly urgent due to the need to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030). The growing production of environmental legislation seems to reflect this urgency (at least formally), as per Bill no. 1.874/2022, which proposes the National Policy on Circular Economy. This qualitative and bibliographic research analyzes legislative proposals and the scientific literature, focusing on secondary data regarding the implementation of environmental public policies. It examines the bill to identify its key concepts, objectives, principles, and instruments, as well as the broader concept of circular economy and the development of international debates on the subject. Furthermore, this study assesses the convergence of Bill no. 1,874/2022 with the provisions of the National Solid Waste Policy (Law no. 12,305/2010) and highlights implementation challenges and the risks of reiterating theoretical concepts without effective application. Ultimately, the findings indicate that legislative production alone is insufficient to achieve sustainable development goals as it tends to recycle policies that remain confined to legal frameworks without practical enforcement.