Measuring the efficiency of Spanish municipal refuse collection services

The aim of this article is to analyse the technical efficiency of the refus e collection services in 75 municipalities located in Catalonia, Spain, The analysis has been carried out using a great variety of techniques, both pa rametric and non-parametric. Although the results naturally differ accordin g to the technique used, they nevertheless are consistent in ranking the un its analysed Finally, bye have looked into the relation existing between ef ficiency and the public or private management of the service. The results; seem to support the idea that the framework for competition in which the se n,ice is provided could be more relevant than the private-public management dichotomy.