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Short abstract:

This article analyzes the impact of the Zero Waste Movement in Brazil, with a focus on the promotion of composting and the influence of the “Composteiros do Brasil” network. We also discuss the challenges and progress of the ongoing socio-technical transition in the country's waste management.

Long abstract:

Currently, global production of municipal solid waste amounts to 2.01 billion tons, with a disastrous growth estimate for 2050 of 3.40 billion tons (World Bank 2018). This trend towards a growing volume of waste is unsustainable and has long been criticized by environmental social movements critical of the cradle-to-grave model of contemporary throwaway economies. The zero waste movement (ZWM) is one such transnational movement and its main goal is to create an economic system that avoids sending trash to landfills, incinerators, oceans, or any other part of the environment. This paper explores the history and the impact of the ZWM in Brazil through the lens of larger STS discussions on socio-technical transitions. We show how the ZWM in Brazil, associated with local business solutions, has managed to trigger significant socio-technical change in the system of consumption and disposal of organic waste in major urban centers. Our discussion centers on zero waste strategies for promoting composting over discarding, and we give the example of the network “Composteiros do Brasil” (Composters of Brazil), a decentralized organization made up of a hundred composting companies across the country. This network appears to be challenging the hegemonic system of organic waste disposal and management, leading to the emergence of an alternative ensemble that favors composting over sending organic waste to landfills, thus producing significant changes in the final destination of this type of waste. In the conclusion, we discuss some of the limitations of these changes and identify a few challenges ahead.