Worldwide, the solid waste sector represents a major challenge for urbanized regions. Despite the significant differences in strategies and initiatives for managing this issue between developed and developing countries, both groups of nations strive to find environmentally sound and viable solutions in their cities.

The specialized literature on the subject establishes a very clear and direct relationship between economic growth and market access with increased waste generation rates. However, this relationship must also be understood within the dimension of service operations and all the intrinsic stages of sustainability planning in the context of climate change and increasing urbanization rates.

In this sense, ICLEI, fulfilling its mission of providing resources for cities to develop better practices in the use of their waste, views with great optimism and enthusiasm the progress in municipal plans aimed at introducing good practices to the sector and promoting forms of social inclusion, as well as mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

The fourth analytical report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that urban waste is responsible for 51 Tbp of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, although this seems like a small percentage, it is important to emphasize that proper waste management initiatives occur at the local level, and their contribution to the carbon footprint in cities tends to be much more significant than those found in national inventories.

Recently, ICLEI confirmed this discrepancy in Recife and Fortaleza, two of the main cities in Northeast Brazil. There, waste management was the economic sector with the second highest rate of greenhouse gas emissions (i.e., Recife with approximately 251 Tbp and Fortaleza with about 201 Tbp). Not surprisingly, local governments are gradually becoming more aware that mitigating these gases is mainly linked to reducing waste generation, reuse, and recycling, whether through policies such as the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) or the application of technologies and innovation.

Taking all these aspects into consideration, ICLEI realized that the major events held annually
In Brazilian cities, in addition to the recent 2014 FIFA World Cup and the upcoming 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, there can be opportunities to promote the introduction of best practices in waste management as lasting legacies for local governments.

This publication aims to assist in the development of waste management plans for events and to inspire actions that can contribute, in some way, to mitigating the impacts of climate change, a current necessity that will define the future of the next generations.