The disposal of fluorescent lamps of industries of the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte - MG

Abstract

The irregular disposal of fluorescent lamps can cause environmental problems and harms human health. This work has the purpose of analyzing the process of discarding fluorescent lamps of the user industries, located in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, in the State of Minas Gerais. The study was carried out in a quantitative and qualitative approach, with a semi-structured interview applied to the manager of the Special Residues Management of the State Environmental Foundation (FEMA), the head of the Office of the Municipal Secretary of Environment of the City Hall of Belo Horizonte and the director of the decontamination lamps company. It was applied a structured interview, with a questionnaire structured and applied to a random sample of 370 companies from the industrial sector consumers of fluorescent lamps. The results showed that the common waste is still the predominant disposal option, many respondents are not aware of the environmental legislation, and the industries also pointed out that there are many difficulties to implement reverse logistics mainly due to the absence of public power programs for the correct disposal. Therefore, there is a lack of government support and companies' initiative to comply with the legislation, which is bad considering it is a hazardous waste.