The Campo Limpo System is a Brazilian reverse logistics program for empty crop protection packages or those containing leftover products. With inpEV acting as its intelligence hub, this System covers all the regions of the country and is based on the concept of responsibility shared by farmers, manufacturers, distribution channels, and government, according to Federal Law 9,974/00, and its regulatory Decree 4,074/02. Its broad capillarity can be proven by the numbers of its structure, presented in the infographics below.
The System follows the evolution of Brazilian agriculture and agribusiness. If abandoned in the environment or improperly discarded, the crop protection packaging could jeopardize the soil, surface water and groundwater. Once reused, they pose a risk to human health and the environment.
Research conducted by the National Plant Protection Association (Andef) has pointed out that, in 1999, 50% of empty crop protection packaging in Brazil was given away or sold without any control, 25% was burned in the open, 10% was stored in the open and 15% was simply abandoned in the field. The adoption of the Campo Limpo System modified this scenario in such a way that today the country is considered a world reference in the environmentally correct destination of these packages. About 90% of the material received by the System returns to the productive cycle as raw material, which corresponds to the average percentage of packaging subject to recycling (cardboard, metal and washable plastic, provided this material as been properly washed after use in the field). Non-washable packages (about 5% of total sales) and those not properly washed by farmers are sent to accredited incinerators.
90% of the material received by the System returns to the productive cycle as raw material, which corresponds to the average percentage of recyclable packaging
The packages are segregated, pressed and baled at the receiving units prior to being sent to recycling or incineration.
Infrastructure
The Campo Limpo System has receiving units in 25 states and in the Federal District. These locations are managed by crop protection distributor associations, except for six units directly managed by inpEV. The Institute guides the other units and disseminates best practices on themes such as operational procedures, labor laws, safety and financial administration.
Both the central receiving units and the outposts must comply with the determinations of Conama Resolution 465/14 to obtain or renew their environmental permits.
Principles of the Campo Limpo System
Legislation
Assigns specific responsibilities to each link in the agricultural chain
Integration
Involvement of all links since the beginning of the System
Education and awareness
Continuous and consistent efforts
Process and information management
Guides decision-making with a focus on increased productivity, efficiency and value generation and capturing
- Central units: structures responsible for receiving, separating and compacting empty packaging to be sent to appropriate destination. In December 2017, 99 central units were also ready to receive post-consumption leftovers, which are packaged in suitable containers for shipment to their final disposal, without any waste handling.
- Outposts: smaller structures capable of receiving the empty packaging and segregating it. Some are already prepared to receive post-consumption leftovers. The empty packaging or that containing waste is forwarded to the central units.
- Itinerant receiving units: moving units for receipt of empty containers in remote regions that are more distant from the fixed receiving units.
- Scheduled Return of Empty Packages (adEV): a system that allows farmers to schedule the returns of empty packaging or that containing waste using a computer or a mobile device. By means of adEV, the receiving units are able to predict demand and more efficiently manage packaging receipt.
inpEV
Intelligence center of the Campo Limpo System. In addition to ensuring the environmentally sound final disposal of empty packaging or that containing waste, it articulates the other links of the chain to ensure the efficiency of the process and disseminate good practices. It represents the manufacturing industry in its obligations relative to reverse logistics.
%
of primary plastic packages - that are directly in contact with the product - sold in the country are correctly disposed of by the SCL The System is prepared to receive 100% of the packaging and correctly dispose of them.
Control and traceability
The Central Offices Information System (SIC) controls the movement of materials from the issuance of their proof of receipt, through inventory tracking by type of material through shipping and delivery to the recyclers or incinerators, with traceability of the entire process. It also allows to track the unit’s documents, such as licenses and environmental permits, among other information.
Inventory
Collection orders
Expenses
Hauled material
Documents
Control of impacts on health and safety and the quest for continuous improvement of the Campo Limpo System are guaranteed by means of its quality management ISO 9001 certification, in its latest version (2015). The performance of audits ensures that the procedures are fully complied with and that possible non-conformities are dealt with for definite correction and enhancement of the System.
All packaging delivered to the central receiving units and outposts is inspected at the time of receipt. Those that have not been properly washed or non-washable packaging are forwarded to a segregated area and from there sent to incineration.
Since 2003, inpEV performs laboratory analyses of the triple washing done by farmers to understand the quality of the visual inspection and segregation of packages done by the units and keeps a database up to date of these analyses, using the ABNT technical standard NBR 13968 as a basis. The results show that, on average, the packages have 10 times less traces of pesticides than the allowable limit.
2018 goals:
- properly dispose of 44,700 tons of empty crop protection packaging.
- dispose of 180 tons of leftovers.
Destination numbers of empty crop protection packaging in 2017
(in 1,000 tons)
GRI G4-EN23
Destination of empty packaging per region
| Disposal of empty packaging per state (in tons) | |||
| State | 2016 | 2017 | % |
| Alagoas | 106.6 | 113.8 | 6.77% |
| Amazonas | – | 10,0 | – |
| Bahia | 3,088.2 | 3,004.5 | -2.71% |
| Espírito Santo | 292.3 | 277.5 | -5.09% |
| Goiás | 4,485.4 | 4,226.3 | -5.78% |
| Maranhão | 788.8 | 852.0 | 7.90% |
| Mato Grosso | 10,484.9 | 10,319.1 | -1.58% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 3,430.8 | 3,628.5 | 5.76% |
| Minas Gerais | 3,403.5 | 3,704.9 | 8.86% |
| Pará | 191.4 | 218.4 | 14.13% |
| Paraná | 5,970.2 | 5,764.4 | -3.45% |
| Pernambuco | 232.3 | 345.5 | 48.72% |
| Piauí | 642.7 | 615.1 | -4.30% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 55.3 | – | -100.00% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 40.9 | 45.2 | 10.45% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 4,571.2 | 4,685.2 | 2.49% |
| Rondônia | 478.1 | 458.2 | -4.18% |
| Roraima | 18.4 | 18.5 | 0.43% |
| Santa Catarina | 1,005.9 | 796.3 | -20.83% |
| São Paulo | 4,582.5 | 4,624.3 | 0.91% |
| Sergipe | 54.2 | 55.4 | 2.06% |
| Tocantins | 605.2 | 749.3 | 23.80% |
| Total | 44,528.9 | 44,511.6 | -0.04% |
Note:
there was no direct disposal to recyclers and incinerators in the states not listed in the table. The 0.04% difference between the amount of disposed packages in 2016 and 2017 reflects the System reaching maturity and is not significant.
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