The aim of this thesis is to investigate whether the National Solid Waste Policy contributes to the democratic social inclusion of recyclable waste pickers in waste management, or whether such legal system that regulates this economic activity includes them subalternly and precariously, reinforcing their vulnerabilities and environmental injustices. This qualitative research was based on a case study on the implementation of solid waste policy in the city of Arraial do Cabo, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, between 2009 and 2018. We took as a support for the description, and interpretation of the social reality investigated the bibliographic research on solid waste and the National Solid Waste Policy, the documentary review with emphasis on the Government Audit in the Municipality of Arraial do Cabo held in 2012 by TCE/RJ to verify the conditions of organization and operation of the services of urban cleaning and solid waste management and in the Public Civil Action number 000041267.2007.8.19.0005, promoted by the Public Ministry in face of the municipality of Arraial do Cabo and the analysis of the environmental legislation towards the management of solid waste. We also used as a research method semi-structured interviews with the main social actors responsible for waste management, namely: managers and waste pickers of the Cooperative of Collection and Recycling of the Costa do Sol; the public authority, represented by the Municipal Secretariat the Municipal Environment Secretariat and the Municipal Foundation for Environment, Research, Science and Technology, the leaders of the National Collectors Movement and the National Movement I Am Collector of Recyclable Materials. By investigating the planning, evaluation, supervision, transparency and monitoring of governmental actions regarding the solid waste management in Arraial do Cabo, we concluded that the waste policy led to socioenvironmental improvements to the municipality. However it resulted in a precarious inclusion of recyclable waste pickers because it did not produce mechanisms to avoid unequal distribution of social protection, causing vulnerability processes, besides the fact that it was not built connecting environmental sustainability to citizenship and to democratic and environmentally just ways of acting.