Urban solid waste management is a pending problem for several municipalities in Brazil, which insist on using irregular dumpsites for the final disposal of the waste generated within their territory. The official pools performed on 1989, 2000 and 2008 by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) have shown an improvement, although more than half of Brazilian municipalities still use open dumpsites. On a daily basis, almost ninety thousand tons of waste reaches dumpsites and, up to date, there are still 2.810 dumpsites operating in Brazil. In the State of Rio de Janeiro the scenario seems to be improving faster. The State generates approximately 10 percent of the total amount of waste produced in Brazil and it has dedicated efforts to promote the proper waste management. For example, on 2003, prior to the federal regulation, the State issued the State Policy on Solid Waste Act (State Law no. 4.191/03). The aforementioned law forbids any final disposal of waste that may cause damages to human health and well-being and to the environment. Also, it prevents open disposal, uncontrolled waste burning, disposal on abandoned site and, in addition to that, demands all dumpsites to be closed within a year from its publication. Although the deadline was not obeyed, it certainly created the sense of urgency that demanded authorities to work on this goal. From 2000 to 2015, the State of Rio de Janeiro has closed 65 percent of the formerly active dumpsites: 129 areas were closed on this timespan. State s official numbers show that up to 98 percent of the waste was placed on sanitary landfills, significantly reducing the environmental impacts of such activity. Even though this number seems to be overestimated, it is clear that the State of Rio de Janeiro has made progress despite the slow advance on the national picture.