Solid Waste Services Research Articles

Private sector participation in municipal solid waste service: Experiences in Latin America

Preliminary case studies have been carried out on private sector provision of municipal solid waste services in four large Latin American cities (Buenos Aires, Caracas, Santiago, and São Paulo). A parallel study of a metropolitan solid waste company in Rio de Janeiro provided a comparison. These experiences substantiate that private service provision can be successful in terms of cost containment and quality of service as long as the conditions for contestable markets are met. In the four cases studied, private collection firms have exclusive right to service specific areas of the city and contracts are awarded by competitive bidding. These and other studies in the region suggest that local authorities should establish operational and environmental regulations and standards to guide private contractors, and have the capacity to oversee these activities. Supervision and payment should be based on specific performance measures. More attention needs to be given to cost recovery, financial stability and improved disposal practices. There appears to be substantial scope for expanded private sector involvement in the region.

Private Sector Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Service: Experiences in Latin America

Preliminary case studies have been carried out on private sector provision of municipal solid waste services in four large Latin American cities (Buenos Aires, Caracas, Santiago, and São Paulo). A parallel study of a metropolitan solid waste company in Rio de Janeiro provided a comparison. These experiences substantiate that private service provision can be successful in terms of cost containment and quality of service as long as the conditions for contestable markets are met. In the four cases studied, private collection firms have exclusive right to service specific areas of the city and contracts are awarded by competitive bidding. These and other studies in the region suggest that local authorities should establish operational and environmental regulations and standards to guide private contractors, and have the capacity to oversee these activities. Supervision and payment should be based on specific performance measures. More attention needs to be given to cost recovery, financial stability and improved disposal practices. There appears to be substantial scope for expanded private sector involvement in the region.

Forecasting for solid wastes operations

This article analyzes the needs for, and capabilities of, formalized forecasting of future workloads to support more effective and efficient solid waste operations management. A case study of computerized forecasting of the average daily solid waste quantity generated, month by month, in Sacramento County, California, is presented. The monthly pattern of peaks and valleys and the month by month trend in solid waste generation are identified. Selected uses of the forecast average, pattern, and trend information in planning for solid waste services and operations are examined. The extent of future workload unpredictability, in Sacramento, in terms of randomness reflected in forecast errors, is identified. The operational consequences of forecast errors are discussed.

Book reviews

ECONOMIC APPROACHES TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, by D. E. James, H. Jansen and J. Opschoor. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1978. x + 234 pp. ($ 39.00) THE ONE‐STRAW REVOLUTION. AN INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL FARMING, by M. Fukuoka. Rodale Press, Emmaus, 1978. 181 pp. (£4.75) SOCIAL AREAS IN CITIES: PROCESSES, PATTERNS AND PROBLEMS, edited by D. T. Herbert and R. J. Johnston. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1978. xi + 311 pp. (£5.35) CLIMATE AND THE ENVIRONMENT (The atmospheric impact on Man), by J. F. Griffiths. P. Elek, London, 1976. 148 pp. (£2.95 softback) Studies in Biology no. 97. MAN—HOT AND COLD, by O. G. Edholm. 60 pp. (£1.60); Studies in Biology No. 85. SCIENCE AND THE FISHERIES, by D. H. Cushing. 60 pp. (£1.50); Studies in Biology No. 101. SULPHUR IN BIOLOGY, by John W. Anderson. 60 pp. £1.60). All published by Edward Arnold Ltd., London, for the Institute of Biology. ENVIRONMENTAL ROLE OF NITROGEN‐FIXING BLUE‐GREEN ALGAE AND ASYMBIOTIC BACTERIA, edited by V. Granhall, Ecological Bulletin No. 26, N.F.R. (Swedish Natural Science Research Council), Stockholm, 1978. 391 pp. (Sw. kr. 100) INTERNATIONAL CLEAN AIR CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS, 1978. (Sponsor—Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand). J. Wiley, Chichester, Sussex (£22.70) MEASURING AND MONITORING THE ENVIRONMENT, edited by John Lenihan and Wilkie W. Fletcher. Blackie, Glasgow, 1978. 131 pp. (Softback £4.00; hardback £8.00) NITROGEN CONTROL AND PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL IN SEWAGE TREATMENT POLLUTION TECHNOLOGY REVIEW NO. 44, edited by D. J. DeRenzo. Noyes Date Corporation, New Jersey, U.S.A., 1978. 704 pp. (£15.75) ANALYSIS OF SOLID WASTE SERVICES by Robert M. Clark. Ann Arbor Science, Michigan, 1978. 157 pp. (£9.45) NEW PROCESSES OF WASTE WATER TREATMENT AND RECOVERY, edited by G. Mattock. Published by Society of Chemical Industry (London) 1978, no index. 415 pp. (Hardback £25.00) WATER IN BRITAIN, by Sheila Jones and R. A. Beddis. Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1978. 62 pp. (£1.05) ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND X‐RAY APPLICATIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH ANALYSIS, by Philip A. Russell and Alan E. Hutchings. Ann Arbor Science Pub., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1978. ix + 278 pp. (£17.65)

Equity in Local Service Distribution

Equity is difficult to define and to analyze, but we believe a simplied version of it can become a useful conceptual tool for local administrators. The way to begin is to analyze local service distribution patterns. Officials in the larger local governments should, indeed, make the analysis of service distribution part of their operating routines. In this article we will suggest a framework for administrators to use in analyzing service distribution and offer suggestions for making judgments about the equity of service distribution patterns. We will relate the analytic framework and the equity judgment suggestions to four different categories of local services. We will then discuss how an operating official may use these ideas, and end by examining some of the limitations of the methods we propose. For the sake of brevity, we will devote only passing attention to dollar measures. That subject has received lengthy attention in recent productivity research. Public services are a subset of social, economic, and political activities resulting in the distribution of benefits in society. Local public service expenditures constitute a substantial portion of total domestic public service expenditures. In addition, nearly every domestic service includes transactions at the local level, by local governments or officials of other governments. To the extent that the quantity or quality of water supply, police protection, education, or other services vary among neighborhoods, wards, or other localities within a city or a metropolitan area, the question of the appropriateness of variation in service distribution may be raised. Politicians often are concerned about trade-offs between services e.g., shall police services or solid waste services be increased

Solid Waste Generation and Service Quality

Models to show at a planning level the expected change in the amount of solid waste collected due to a change in the quality of service provided are presented. Level of service indicators used are collection frequency, collection place, and use of direct user charges. Data from nine cities were used with results indicating that frequency is less important than previously reported and that collection place has little effect. Pricing may have a large effect on collection but not on generation which can lead to alternative disposal of generated wastes through illegal (burning) or socially damaging (littering) means, or through other channels with social benefits (recycling).

Cost of Residential Solid Waste Collection

Governmental decision-making in metropolitan areas is becoming increasingly concerned with finding comprehensive solutions to area-wide problems. Development of an adequate urban solid waste management system for residential solid waste collection is such a problem. Although solid waste services offered by various civil subdivisions in a metropolitan area may be widely divergent, the factors influencing this service are similar. For example, within a given metropolitan area one town may offer twice-a-week, rear-of-the house collection service, while another town may offer once-a-week curb service. To analyze these two different systems on a metropolitan-wide basis, it is necessary to develop appropriate analytical tools. One possibility for analyzing these factors is to apply regression analysis to economic and operational data related to solid waste collection in a given metropolitan area. This technique is applied to such an area, and the relevant factors influencing solid waste collection are determined.