IMPROVING GARBAGE COLLECTION IN LATIN-AMERICA SLUMS - SOME LESSONS FROM MACHALA, ECUADOR

The challenge of improving garbage collection in Latin American slums is illustrated by the case of Machala, Ecuador, a port city with a pop ulation of approximately 200 000. For many years, solid waste services have been provided exclusively by a unionized municipal department. B y and large, it has performed inefficiently, and virtually no garbage is collected in the city's poor neighborhoods, where 100 000 people re side. Better service for Machala's slums requires the use of appropria te technology. To be specific, large tricycles equipped with a 1 m(3) box lend themselves well to garbage collection in areas through which motorized vehicles cannot easily pass. With support from international development agencies, a small independent enterprise has been created to operate the tricycles as well as a truck for hauling garbage from transfer points to the city dump. Although the new system is cost-effi cient, there are impediments to the replication of this scheme in othe r locations. Legal and institutional reform is needed to facilitate mu nicipal contracting with enterprises like Machala's. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.