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<Municipal Solid Waste Management> Latin America and the Caribbean 2.4 Topic h: Management and planning Professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean agree that this topic covers the central issues that need to be addressed urgently to improve services in the MSW area. They state that technologies are well developed, and although small improvements are definitely necessary, the quality of services is now more dependent on improving the present management systems. Throughout the region, local governments are responsible for management of solid wastes within their jurisdiction. Larger urban areas tend to have a solid waste department, whereas smaller or less organized cities often have a municipal works department that is responsible for MSW. Whether services are privatized or publicly managed, these departments are the responsible entity for supervision of all phases of operation. However, except for a few cases (such as Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro), the performance in these areas is quite low, since work in the solid waste area is viewed more as a punishment than a reward, and neither operation nor supervision is carried out appropriately. The participation of private contractors is expected to change this. There is a visible demand for solid waste management master plans, and a number of cities are working on them. However, few plans have been implemented and solid waste management programs are largely improvised, heavily influenced by the political environment of the moment. Pressure to improve waste collection services has led in some cases to the strengthening of local governmentsÕ institutional capacity as well as to privatization of services. Many cities have opted to carry out the management of solid wastes directly through the city administration. Large cities such as Mexico City (where the solid waste department is strong and well staffed), as well as most small capital cities, work under this scheme. By contrast, staffing is very deficient in many Central American and some Andean cities. Sao Paulo has contracted out the direct supervision of private contractors, thus reducing costs, while keeping the overall supervisory role. Other large cities have commercialized management of solid wastes through the creation of municipal enterprises. This is the case of Buenos Aires, Lima, Rio de Janeiro, Bogota, Santiago, Caracas, Medellin, Belo Horizonte, La Paz, and Port of Spain. In these cases, the enterprises are owned by the municipality, but they function independently. The financing of the enterprises varies. In some cases they have a mandate to be completely self-sufficient (this is the case of CEAMSE - Cinturon Ecologico del Area Metropolitana Sociedad del Estado - in Buenos Aires, and the solid waste authority in Port of Spain), while in other cases, all financial resources come through the municipality (e.g., ESMLL in Lima). In most cases, there is a combination of direct income and subsidies from the local government. Private sector involvement In all countries there is some level of private sector involvement in solid waste management. This involvement comes at all points in the waste management chain (during recycling, collection, transport, and disposal) and is carried out by all sizes of enterprises, from large-scale multinationals to small-scale enterprises. The efficiency of these private sector enterprises varies significantly. In many cities collection of wastes is in the hands of the private sector, whether the municipality or the enterprise is responsible for management of solid wastes. For example, in cities such as Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Santo Domingo, and La Paz, waste collection is done almost completely by private enterprises. The work done by the municipality or the municipal enterprise is then confined to supervision. The quality of supervision depends on institutional capacity. For example, a number of municipalities in Mexico have turned to private firms in order to improve services, but the municipalities have little or no experience in arranging service contracts, awarding concessions, and monitoring compliance with contract conditions. Consequently, performance standards under such arrangements are neither satisfactorily established nor adhered to, and expected levels of efficiency are rarely, if ever, achieved. In some cases, such as Guatemala City, collection is done by the private sector. However, the private sector's participation is a result of the lack of municipal infrastructure and not of a plan to bid out the services. In this case, collection enterprises have ill-defined territories in which they collect wastes. They charge households directly for their services. In some cases, when a household is not happy with the services provided by one enterprise, another enterprise is hired. As a result, two separate enterprises may serve the same block. Private sector, small-scale initiatives are also happening in low-income and difficult-access areas. Small-scale waste collection enterprises are operating or in the planning phase in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru. These enterprises have started under the sponsorship of NGOs or technical cooperation organizations. They usually have an agreement with the local government in which the government pays them for their services or allows them to collect fees directly from the households in their area. The success or failure of these enterprises depends on a number of factors. First, there needs to be a good understanding between the municipality and the enterprise, so that jurisdictions and cost-recovery systems are well defined. Also, appropriate training of personnel within the enterprise is needed, not only on the waste collection system but also in management of the enterprise. The latter has become the most difficult one to deal with, since individuals forming these enterprises have seldom worked in a formal setting. Enterprises having all female personnel have demonstrated greater efficiency. These women are usually single mothers in great need of work, and the enterprises are one of the few job sources within the community (i.e., close to home). Also, these women are conscious of the relationship between proper waste management and good health. Though not found as frequently, the private sector is also involved in operation of landfills. For example, in Buenos Aires, as well as in some of the large cities in Brazil, landfills are in the hands of private operators. Other cities with privately operated landfills are located in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Venezuela. In addition, most manual landfills are operated by small-scale enterprises. Performance monitoring and enforcement There is little regular performance monitoring of solid waste operations in the region. Performance is usually measured as part of studies that assess waste collection and disposal efficiencies at one point in time. Thus, these studies rarely show time series. The results of these studies are used as planning tools. Enforcement programs are practically nonexistent. The reason for this is two-fold. First, legislation on MSWM in the region is very weak, so there are few legal instruments that can be used effectively in an enforcement program. Second, solid waste management has traditionally been the responsibility of the local governments, which, claiming lack of resources, do not take enforcement measures. Examples of efforts directed toward the poor In Curitiba, Brazil, several innovations were introduced to promote proper waste management in the poor areas of the city. The "Garbage that is not Garbage" program attempted to promote recycling based on source separation. This program has not been very successful in terms of quantities collected, and the cost of collection of recyclables is approximately ten times that of collecting garbage. On the other hand, the "Garbage Purchase" program has been successful in achieving the main objective of promoting the reduction of wastes in the streets. The program "purchases" garbage bags in exchange for food or transportation vouchers. A similar program, the "Garbage Exchange," has been initiated in the city of Cuauhtémoc, Mexico. In this case, six bags of garbage are exchanged for one bag of basic foods. The community itself suggests the type of food. The success of these garbage exchange programs depends on two basic issues. First, the program needs to be sustained over time. Second, the costs need to be absorbed as part of the social program of the city and must not be considered to be part of the MSWM system.
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