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ARTICLE · 29 MAY 2025

Brazil Introduces Regulations On The Importation Of Solid Waste And Tailings

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The Brazilian government published Decree No. 12,451/2025 (the "New Decree"), which regulates Article 49, §1 of the National Solid Waste Policy (Law No. 12,305/2010), establishing exceptions to the ban on importing solid waste and tailings.

BrazilEnvironment
Luiz Gustavo Bezerra
Luiz Gustavo Bezerra
Victor Penitente Trevizan
Victor Penitente Trevizan
Rafaela Martins Marsola
Rafaela Martins Marsola
Raquel Fabri De Mendonça Costa
Raquel Fabri De Mendonça Costa
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The Brazilian government published Decree No. 12,451/2025 (the "New Decree"), which regulates Article 49, §1 of the National Solid Waste Policy (Law No. 12,305/2010), establishing exceptions to the ban on importing solid waste and tailings. The New Decree provides that the movement of waste under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (the "Convention")——enacted by Decree No. 875/1993—must comply with the procedures set forth in the Convention.

For context, Law No. 15,088/2025 was enacted earlier this year, amending Article 49 of the National Solid Waste Policy to prohibit the import of solid waste and tailings—including paper and its derivatives, plastic, glass, and metal—with exceptions for waste used in the transformation of strategic materials and minerals, including long-fiber paper scraps and metal and metallic material waste. The original wording of the Article only prohibited the importation of

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