Indicadores de sustentabilidade para áreas degradadas por resíduos sólidos em Sergipe: o caso do lixão de Itabaiana/SE

Abstract

The challenge of final disposal of solid waste is a reality on a global scale. In Brazil, many municipalities still rely on landfills, despite their prohibition by Federal Law No. 12,305/2010. In Sergipe, according to the State Public Prosecutor's Office (2025), all landfills have been decommissioned. Given this scenario, this dissertation analyzed the area of the former municipal landfill in Itabaiana/SE from the perspective of environmental recovery. To this end, four interdependent articles were developed to achieve the overall objective of this study. The first sought to identify sustainability indicators in the context of areas degraded by solid waste through a systematic review of the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The second article analyzes the history and current state of the degraded area, using a bibliographic and documentary review, on-site visits, and the Geographic Information System (GIS) to investigate the impacts generated and the challenges faced in its recovery. The third article aimed to assess the environmental impacts using sustainability indicators. To this end, an exploratory approach was adopted that combined documentary research and field visits with photographic records and the application of 30 indicators distributed across six environmental aspects. Finally, the fourth article analyzed the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of the communities within the Area of Direct Influence (ADI). To this end, 88 questionnaires were administered in the dimensions mentioned above. The data were processed using descriptive statistics, with the Chi-square test applied to identify associations between variables. Overall, the approach taken in this dissertation provided an understanding of the existing impacts in the environmental, economic, and social spheres in the area studied. In the environmental sphere, the results revealed changes in the landscape and the presence of areas in different stages of degradation. In the social and economic dimensions, the profile identified in the communities of Oiteiro do Capim and Pinhão is marked by low levels of education, insufficient income, poor sanitation, and exposure to environmental risks. Given this scenario, the environmental recovery of the former landfill is a complex action that requires an integrated approach that combines technical solutions for cleaning up the area, public policies aimed at local social development, and the continuous engagement of the community.