Brazilian recycling potential: Energy consumption and Green House Gases reduction

The present article seeks to quantify the potential energy saving as well as the reduction on carbon dioxide emissions by package recycling through the implementation of the National Solid Waste Policy (NSWP) in Brazil. The applied methodology is based on the Green House Gasses (GHG) Protocol guidelines. Thus, The objective of this article is to determine the energy saving and CO2 emissions reduction according to recyclable material. The result shows that, from 2015 until 2031, the potential CO2 emission reduction was 42,18CO2 Mt and it showed a reduction of 63,72CO2 Mt within the NSWP goals. The energy savings were estimated to be 1,078,745TJ for current recycle indexes and 1,529,718TJ according to National Solid Waste Policy goals.