Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of The Packaging Sector Agreement In Brazil: Assessing The Socio-Productive Inclusion Of Waste Pickers

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the implementation of the Packaging Sector Agreement in Brazil, within the scope of the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), highlighting the advances, limitations, and challenges for the socio-productive inclusion of recyclable material collectors supported by reverse logistics credit management entities, considering the updates introduced by Federal Decrees No. 11,043/2022 and No. 11,413/2023. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework is based on the concepts of social sustainability, socio-productive inclusion, reverse logistics, and shared responsibility, engaging with approaches to environmental justice and racism to understand how public policies and the recycling credit market interact with working conditions historically marked by social and racial inequalities. Method: The adopted method is exploratory, based on bibliographic research and documentary analysis of legislation, reports from management entities, and academic literature, organized into previously defined analytical categories. Results and Discussion: The results and discussion indicate that, despite regulatory strengthening and the creation of new certification instruments, recycling rates in the country remain low and the effective inclusion of waste pickers remains limited, with persistent informality and labor exploitation. Research Implications: The recycling credit market offers potential for investment and the structuring of cooperatives, but it still operates fragmentedly, reinforcing the gap between regulation and practice and highlighting the need for more integrated public policies and governance mechanisms capable of promoting socio-environmental justice and decent working conditions.