Innovation in brazilian landfills: a servppin perspective

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the discussion of innovation promotion in urban solid waste services through Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) projects, emphasizing the participation of civil society. The empirical context is based on the municipal solid waste sector in Brazil, taking into account six landfill CDM projects located in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area. The discussion is based on the ServPPIN concept (public-private innovation networks in services). It focuses on the characterization of the landfills selected and on the identification of the stakeholders involved with these landfills, pointing out any participation gaps. The studied context confirms the centrality of multi-agent participation, addressed by the ServPPIN analytical approach, highlighting the wide involvement of several agents, and in particular, the issue of interaction with users. The results indicate that the participation of associations and cooperatives surrounding landfills is still marginal. Bringing this theoretical (ServPPIN) and empirical research (landfill CDM project) together, one can identify a relevant factor affecting the establishment of basic conditions for service innovation converging with the local co-benefits generation: a weak interaction with users.