The effectiveness of inter-municipal cooperation for integrated sustainable waste management: A case study in Ecuador

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) 2022-08, Vol.150, p.208-217
• Main Authors: Villalba Ferreira, Mario, Dijkstra, Geske, Scholten, Peter, Sucozhañay, Dolores
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Circular economy; Governance; Integrated sustainable waste management; Inter-municipal cooperation
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2022.07.008

•Inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) is a strategy to improve waste management.•A typology of IMC differentiates the type of collaboration of municipalities.•Municipalitiesin the Cuenca-Azogues region invested in three types of IMC.•Complex IMC types achieved a more sustainable waste management performance. There is an increasing awareness that effective waste management is essential for transitioning towards a circular economy and achieving sustainable development goals. Scholars have studied inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) as a governance solution with the potential to generate economies of scale and reduce financial costs in waste management. However, previous research has not yet focused on measuring the effectiveness of different types of cooperation on social and environmental outcomes. We analyse the effect of different types of IMC, ranging from indirect to collaborative, on Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) indicators. Our embedded qualitative case study in the emerging metropolitan region of Cuenca-Azogues (Ecuador) found that municipalities that invested in more complex cooperation types achieved better integrated waste management performance, particularly on final disposal, citizen participation, inclusion of recyclers and environmental sustainability.