The municipal solid waste management of La Paz (Bolivia): Challenges and opportunities for a sustainable development

Abstract

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is considered an important public health, economic and environmental concern, especially in developing countries. This paper introduces the situation of MSWM in La Paz (Bolivia) in 2016, and is based on the Wasteaware indicators and waste flow analysis, useful tools for classifying and comparing waste treatment and management plans among other countries. Taking into account the lack of technology in waste treatment and the presence of a developed informal sector, the paper analyses the main strengths and weak points for implementing a sustainable MSWM. The research conducted revealed that the MSWM of La Paz is not efficient with regard to collection, recycling (8%), financial sustainability, and equity of the service. At the same time, local Government and stakeholders are interested in implementing new MSWM methods for improving the current sanitary state of the city and many efforts were made over the last ten years. In general terms, La Paz could be considered as a good study area for developing plans for waste valorization, becoming an example for a low-middle income developing big city of Latin America. The study provided a few considerations about the affordability of the methodology applied and critically analyzed the case study proposed.

De cero a dinero: La basura como fuente principal para un negocio inclusivo de reciclaje en Cuenca – Ecuador

“…Benton-Short y Short (2013) señalan que la generación de basura, junto con los problemas de recolección, disposición y los riesgos ambientales, continúan siendo un desafío para muchas ciudades (citados por Jiménez, 2015), más aún la gestión para los municipios que resulta una gran dificultad (Abdoli, Rezaei, & Hasanian, 2016;Meylan et al, 2018;Botello et al, 2018). Esta gestión de los municipios continúa en desarrollo con pequeños proyectos piloto incluyendo al sector informal del reciclaje (Ferronato et al, 2018), considerando a otros trabajos públicos más importantes (Ross & Rogoff, 2012). Significa entonces que es crucial el aumento de determinación de las autoridades locales para resolver dichos inconvenientes (Ferreira, Bila, & Ritter, 2017).…”

Sustainability Transitions in the Municipal Solid Waste Management Systems of Bolivian Cities: Evidence from La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra

“…In recent years the waste services in La Paz have undergone an important technological shift, from a purely curbside collection system to a mixed system that incorporates containers in various districts [113] (personal comm: C1). Following this shift, the current collection services in La Paz are considered to be some of the most advanced nationally, due to both the technological aspect and the good response from the population (personal com: I3; K2; F2; C1; D1).…”

Municipal Solid Waste Management in Latin America and the Caribbean: Issues and Potential Solutions from the Governance Perspective

“…The governance aspects usually explain how society participates in and accomplishes complex tasks to achieve a common goal such as the MSW management process, which includes many stakeholders because it is closely attached to day-to-day living of the population. Strengthening the governance aspects of MSW management in LAC countries is crucial because; first, their urban populations are extremely high and still growing; and second, improperly managed MSW is now causing environmental and health problems in the region [7][8][9][10][11]. Therefore, looking at MSW management from the perspective of governance would transparently give some hints to solve problems as to who is involved or who is responsible.…”