Brazil announces increased import taxes on solid waste

The Brazilian Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Services (MDIC) announced on Tuesday (18) that it would increase import taxes on solid waste. From August 1, 18% of fees will be charged on paper, plastic, and glass waste. Until now, these products were exempt from import taxes, and plastic waste was taxed at 11.2%. The measure, taken by the Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex), aims to “strengthen the national recycling chain of solid waste and minimize harmful impacts of these materials on the environment,” according to a statement from the minister’s office and vice-president Geraldo Alckmin.

Between 2019 and 2022, the import of these wastes saw a significant increase, according to an evaluation by a technical group of the Interministerial Committee for Socioeconomic Inclusion of Waste Pickers and Collectors (CIISC), linked to the Presidency’s General Secretariat. Purchases of paper products rose 109.4%; glass, 73.3%; and plastic, 7.2%. Colorless glass waste, specifically, will not be affected by the measure, continuing with a zero tariff. According to the Ministry, this is due to the lack of national supply alternatives in sufficient numbers for the Brazilian industry.

The survey was carried out after the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA) expressed concern about the issue since these imports affect the resale price of recyclables, leading pickers to leave the activity and generating an increase in the deposit of waste in landfills and dumps. This harms the “work developed to recover recyclable and reusable materials generated locally,” said the MDIC.

The import of waste into Brazil is regulated by the National Solid Waste Policy and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, a treaty to which Brazil is a signatory. Operations must be authorized by IBAMA and the Integrated Foreign Trade System (Siscomex), and the import of hazardous, domestic, rejected, and used tires is prohibited.

Source: O Eco

To read the original news report, see: https://oeco.org.br/noticias/importacao-de-residuos-de-papel-vidro-e-plastico-tera-aumento-de-impostos/

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