Garbage is a private business in Brazil Private companies collect the garbage of two-thirds of Brazil's urban population, and are responsible for 15 percent of the sanitary landfills, according to the recently published “Overview of Solid Waste in Brazil”, for 2005.

The privatization of these services has increased over the past decade as a result of the limited government investment and the “good business” this concessions represents for the sector, Eduardo Castagnari, head of ABRELPE, the Brazilian association of waste companies, told Tierramérica. The association was in charge of the overview report.

The trend of privatization is likely to deepen with the enactment of the law on public-private association, passed in late 2004.

In Brazil, 100,000 tons of urban waste daily — equivalent to about 60 percent — continue to be deposited in open-air dumps, instead of regulated landfills.