EVALUACIÓN DE LOS SISTEMAS DE MANEJO DE RESIDUOS EN CUATRO MUNICIPIOS DE JALISCO, MÉXICO

Abstract

In Mexico, public policies and the regulatory framework on urban solid waste (USW) have advanced notably during the last two decades, moving from old sanitation systems of garbage collection and disposal, to integrated systems of waste management, where the priority is the valorization of materials. It is no longer relevant to focus on garbage, but to promote recycling of waste materials and composting organic wastes, as well as adding value to waste materials using innovative process. However, new proposals for integrated waste management programs have not resulted in substantial changes at municipal level. In theory, some progress is evident, but in practice the advance is minor. Solid wastes are still managed as garbage; as non-useful waste whose main destination is a local landfill. This article compares USW production data with the amounts of inorganic materials separated for recycling and the amounts of the organic component that go to compost or are valued in other ways. Data from 1997 and 2017 for four municipalities are compared. The results show some progress in valorization, increasing from 5 to 8 % of total USW, but this is a minor advance in relation to the large problem of generation of USW in a metropolitan area such as Guadalajara, the second most populated city in Mexico.