Concern about healthcare waste (HCW) in Brazil began in the 1970s and evolved until Law 12305/2010, the most recent regulation on HCW management. In the Federal District, until 2003, there was no management of healthcare waste in healthcare establishments. However, even after the current regulations came into force, until the date of this study, little had been achieved in terms of the effectiveness of the management actions established in the legislation on the subject. The district government has made many efforts to close the Estrutural dump and improve the waste management plan, but it was only 15 years after the first initiatives that the authorities took more affirmative action on the subject, including social policies aimed at waste pickers.