Brazil wastes energy potential while tons of waste remains without a sustainable destination

Brazil produces millions of tons of waste each year — yet wastes most of its energy potential. Energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) is still incipient, despite being a promising strategy to address the environmental crisis, reduce emissions, and diversify the energy matrix. What’s missing to flip this switch?

Waste in numbers

In 2023, Brazilians produced around 81 million tons of municipal solid waste, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies (Abrelpe). That’s over 220,000 tons per day. Of this total, less than 5% is recycled, another portion goes to sanitary landfills, and a significant share is still discarded in open dumps — a practice banned since 2010 but still common in over a thousand municipalities.
According to estimates from the International Energy Agency (IEA), mismanaged urban waste is responsible for around 8% of global methane emissions, one of the most aggressive greenhouse gases, with a warming potential 86 times greater than CO₂ over a 20-year period.

Turning waste into energy: what does it mean?

So-called energy recovery is a way to extract value from non-recyclable waste by converting it into electricity, heat, or alternative fuels. In Brazil, the main technologies with potential application include:

• Waste-to-energy (or controlled incineration): combustion of waste to generate power.
• Co-processing: use of RDF – Refuse Derived Fuel – as an energy source in cement kilns.
• Anaerobic digestion: decomposition of organic waste to generate biogas, which can be converted into electricity or biomethane.

The National Solid Waste Information System (SINIR) recognizes energy recovery as a legitimate form of environmentally appropriate final disposal, within the hierarchy of the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS).

Brazil’s potential is massive

According to the Brazilian Association for Energy Recovery from Waste (ABREN), if Brazil treated 47% of its urban waste in waste-to-energy plants, it could install 3.3 GW of power generation capacity — enough to supply more than 4 million homes. The sector would generate over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and mobilize R$ 200 billion in investments and tax revenues over 40 years.
Updated ABREN data indicate that combined energy recovery, biogas, and biomethane have the potential to attract R$ 500 billion in investments in the coming years.

Additionally, the National Solid Waste Plan (Planares) outlines the hiring of 994 MW of energy recovery capacity, 252 MW from landfill gas, and 69 MW from anaerobic digestion by 2040 — totaling R$ 54.67 billion in investments.

Studies by ABREN also show that 28 Brazilian metropolitan regions concentrate 70% of the country’s waste and could support energy recovery plants with economic, environmental, and social viability. However, only one plant is currently under construction: the Barueri WtE plant, expected to begin operations in 2027 with a 20 MW capacity. Other projects in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Mauá, Campinas, and Brasília add over R$ 6 billion in investments and already hold environmental licenses and grid connection.

Biogas: the link between waste and clean energy in cities and rural areas

Among all forms of energy recovery, biogas holds a strategic position in Brazil due to its versatility and direct connection to agribusiness, sanitation, and urban management.
Biogas is generated through anaerobic decomposition (without oxygen) of organic waste, such as:

• Sewage
• Agro-industrial residues (animal waste, crop leftovers)
• Urban organic waste

According to the Brazilian Biogas Association (ABiogás), Brazil has the potential to generate more than 120 million m³ of biogas per day — enough to replace 70% of the country’s diesel fuel consumption. But according to ABREN, less than 3% of this potential is currently utilized, with 92% concentrated in agricultural residues.
Beyond energy generation, biogas also contributes to:

• Reducing methane emissions — a highly harmful greenhouse gas.
• Decreasing fossil fuel dependency in transportation and distributed generation.
• Creating local circular economies with energy, biofertilizers, and rural jobs.

While the country wastes much of its energy potential from waste, Eva Energia leads a movement that proves otherwise: it’s possible to turn organic waste into electricity, development, and real sustainability. Through innovative biogas and biomethane projects, the company connects agribusiness and urban management with solutions that reduce emissions, generate local value, and pave the way for Brazil’s renewable energy future.

Why isn’t it happening?

Despite the potential, the sector advances slowly for several reasons:

1. Legal and regulatory uncertainty: The absence of specific frameworks discourages investors. To this day, there’s no regulated tariff for waste-to-energy, unlike other renewables.
2. Lack of financial incentives: Unlike solar or wind, waste-to-energy lacks tax breaks or dedicated financing from public banks.
3. Landfill competition: The average fee paid to landfills is R$ 140/ton. For WtE plants to be viable, energy must be priced between R$ 500 and R$ 750/MWh. Biodigestion can reach R$ 781/MWh, but fossil thermal plants in the national grid exceed R$ 3,000/MWh at peak times.
4. Waste culture: Selective collection still doesn’t cover even 20% of Brazilian households. Mixing organic and recyclable waste compromises both recycling and recovery efficiency.

Government and recent developments: signs of hope?

The federal government has shown timid signs of progress. In 2019, Interministerial Ordinance No. 274 set guidelines for energy recovery projects, classifying them as environmentally appropriate final disposal. That same year, Decree No. 10.117/2019 included such projects in the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI), facilitating concessions and tenders.
The 2021 A-5 Energy Auction by ANEEL opened space for waste-to-energy projects for the first time. Twelve projects were submitted, but none contracted due to low competitiveness compared to cheaper sources.

Meanwhile, the National Solid Waste Plan (Planares), updated in 2024, set ambitious targets for 2040: 994 MW of WtE capacity, 252 MW of landfill gas, and 69 MW of anaerobic digestion.

Experts call for a strategic shift

Environmental consultant Juliana Matos believes Brazil is “sitting on an underused energy goldmine.” According to her, “Energy recovery complements recycling. Waste with no market value should be converted into energy, not buried.”
Economist Marcos Grecco, from GNPW Group, shares the view and advocates using waste as an energy asset in hybrid projects. “We can integrate RDF with solar or biogas, creating modular solutions for industrial hubs and medium-sized cities,” he explains.

Possible paths forward

Sector growth depends on concrete and coordinated actions:

• Creating a specific tariff for energy from waste.
• Mandatory inclusion in energy auctions with urban-focused criteria.
• Support for municipalities to form inter-municipal consortia for regional projects.
• Environmental education campaigns to separate waste at source.
• Private investment incentives backed by BNDES and other public banks.

Brazil faces a historic opportunity: to turn a chronic environmental issue into a source of clean energy, jobs, and circular economy. But to do that, more than promises are needed — it’s time to treat waste as a strategic resource, not a burden.
If the country truly wants to lead Latin America’s energy transition, it must start with the basics — and that includes taking waste out of the shadows and placing it at the center of the energy agenda.