Knowledge and technology transfer to improve the municipal solid waste management system of Durango City, Mexico

Abstract

As society evolves its welfare level increases, and as a consequence the amount of municipal solid waste increases, imposing great challenges to municipal authorities. In developed countries, municipalities have established integrated management schemes to handle, treat, and dispose of municipal solid waste in an economical and environmentally sound manner. Municipalities of developing and transition countries are not exempted from the challenges involving municipal solid waste handling, but their task is not easy to accomplish since they face budget deficits, lack of knowledge, and deficiencies in infrastructure and equipment. In the northern territory of Mexico, the municipality of Durango is facing the challenge of increased volumes of waste with a lack of adequate facilities and infrastructure. This article analyses the evolution of the municipal solid waste management of Durango city, which includes actions such as proper facilities construction, equipment acquisition, and the implementation of social programmes. The World Bank, offering courses to municipal managers on landfill operation and waste management, promoted the process of knowledge and technology transfer. Thereafter, municipal authorities attended regional and some international workshops on waste management. In addition they followed suggestions of international contractors and equipment dealers with the intention to improve the situation of the waste management of the city. After a 15-year period, transfer of knowledge and technology resulted in a modern municipal solid waste management system in Durango municipality. The actual system did not reach the standard levels of an integrated waste management system, nevertheless, a functional evaluation shows clear indications that municipality actions have put them on the right pathway.

Challenges confronting waste pickers in Indonesia: An on-field analysis

“…However, in other developing countries, for example, in La Paz city, Bolivia, the informal sector can intercept about 30–40 t day −1 of recyclable waste, which means that the IRS recovers about 6–7% of the total solid waste generated in the city (Ferronato et al, 2020). Furthermore, the city of Durango found that IRS collects 51 t of wastes per year; furthermore, by recovering and selling the recovered plastic PET at the local market prices (€0.125 kg −1 ), the municipality could get an annual income of more than €1 million (Valencia-Vázquez et al, 2014). In Nanjing, China, the recyclable material collected annually by IRS is about 505,000 t, which creates an annual economic value of about US$78.6–84.7 million and saves an annual solid waste disposal cost of about US$17.6–22 million (Chen et al, 2018).…”

“…Previous studies on IRS in Mexico (Valencia-Vázquez et al, 2014), Bolivia (Ferronato et al, 2020) and China (Chen et al, 2018) have established their role in the waste circular economy. However, only a few studies have focused on the social contributions of the IRS in Indonesia.…”

Environmental Assessment of Alternatives for Biowaste Treatment in Mexico City

“…Although the challenge is difficult, some technology transfers have already been successfully implemented. For instance, within a period of 15 years, the Municipality of Durango has improved the overall management of its municipal solid waste by investing in and acquiring new technologies and equipment, and by outsourcing services (Valencia-Vazquez et al, 2014). Another similar project involved Korea transferring waste-to-energy technology to Santiago, Dominican Republic.…”

Opening Science and Innovation: Opportunities for Emerging Economies

“…However, the issue of how SME in emerging economies can benefit from open innovation practices has not been explored in depth in the literature [Khumalo, van der Lingen, 2017], and there is a need for designing requirements for an open innovation approach in these economies [Krause, Schutte, 2015]. In some cases, the need of a basis for technology transfer and knowledge management is pointed out in order to create a solid industrial network [Lehtimaki et al, 2009;Valencia-Vazquez et al, 2014;Jamett et al, 2017;Pitassi, 2012]. Such a solid network allows crossing firm boundaries and implies that both internal and external knowledge can find their way to commercialization for existing or new markets [Amponsah, Adams, 2017;Akinwale, 2018], and find potential new clients [Merino et al, 2015].…”