Urban solid waste management in Latin America: An analysis from the perspective of waste generation

Abstract

Solid waste management is a working agenda for sustainable development. Latin America has adopted policies and promulgated regulations that have led to the prohibition of open-air dumps, an inclusion of recyclers into the management process, and incentives to reduce the generation of urban solid waste. This article analyzes the correlation between the generation of urban solid waste and some other factors in nine cities of the region, between 2007 and 2014, using official statistics from each country. Results show that there is a significant correlation between per capita income and school coverage rate. Although there have been some improvements, there also remain challenges in order to raise awareness among citizens about their role in reducing the generation of solid waste.