Taxa de resíduos sólidos como instrumento para promoção do direito fundamental ao meio ambiente equilibrado

This article presents a bibliographic review, of an exploratory and descriptive nature, combined with a quantitative analysis that proposes to investigate the solid waste management fee as an instrument to promote the fundamental right to a balanced environment. The primary hypothesis is that this instrument is not widely used to finance expenses with solid waste management. As a secondary hypothesis, it is pointed out that the Supreme Court decisions which recognized the legality of the solid waste management fee would have contributed to an increase in its use. In order to test these hypothesis, firstly, we present the right to a balanced environment as a fundamental right. The next step is to highlight the role of the State in the promotion of this right and the importance of considering fiscal sustainability in the conduction of public policies aimed at promoting environmental protection. The legal controversy on the establishment of the this fee is presented in a specific topic that opens the way to a diagnosis about its institution in the country and the level of expenses associated with solid waste management. In the end, the primary hypothesis of underutilization of this instituteis partially confirmed, regarding the North, Northeast and Center-West regions of Brazil. In the South and Southeast regions, a large number of cities have already instituted the aforementioned fee. As for the secondary hypothesis, it is considered that the Supreme Court’s decisions on the legality of the collection of waste management fee did not influence the increase of its use by the Brazilian municipalities.