Big data and management of municipal solid waste

In Brazil, the collection and management of urban solid waste is the responsibility of municipal governments. In most cases this is done on an informational basis considering population numbers to allocate resources for this purpose. Without having data capable of capturing socioeconomic transformations and/or changes in patterns of land use and occupation occurring in intercensal periods, the dimensioning of service provision is compromised. Thus, unwanted impacts can be caused, such as the irregular disposal of solid waste, affecting the quality of life of the population. The use of alternative data sources, especially big data, has enormous potential to complement data from administrative records and surveys, in addition to filling information gaps generated by disconnection of data with reality as the period since the census reference date lengthens. In this article, procedures and results of the use of big data are presented, more precisely satellite images, as an information alternative capable of better reflecting collective demands for services such as collection of municipal solid waste, and therefore of better guiding the decision-making process at the municipal level.