The eco-efficiency of municipalities in the recycling of solid waste: A stochastic semi-parametric envelopment of data approach

Abstract

Eco-efficiency assessment of municipal solid waste (MSW) suppliers is a useful tool in the transition to a circular economy. Furthermore, it provides evidence of the economic and environmental performance of municipalities that can be used for decision-making and/or elaboration of regulatory policies. In this study, eco-efficiency scores were computed for a sample of 140 Chilean municipalities in the provision of MSW services. In doing so, the stochastic semi-parametric envelopment of data method was applied. It is a novel technique which overcomes the limitations of parametric (stochastic frontier analysis) and non-parametric (data envelopment analysis) methods previously employed to evaluate the eco-efficiency of MSW services. The average eco-efficiency of the 140 assessed municipalities was 0.332 which indicates that they could save 66.8% of their operational costs and recycling the same amount of waste. Moreover, 61.4% of the evaluated municipalities presented an eco-efficiency score which was lower than 0.4, whereas the other municipalities (38.6% of the sample) exhibited an eco-efficiency which raged between 0.4 and 0.80. Hence, none of the municipalities assessed was identified as eco-efficient which, implies that there is room for all municipalities to reduce operational costs in the management of MSW. Population density, tourism and location of the municipality were identified as factors influencing the eco-efficiency of the municipalities in MSW management.

Enviromental health, Environmental management, eco-efficiency and its relationship with the optimization of solid waste

“…Del análisis realizado se logró evidenciar tres variables de vital importancia para lograr cuidar prevenir el daño ambiental, los resultados arrojados muestran que el rol de la municipalidad como ente del estado cumple su trabajo como una entidad que se preocupa del manejo y apoyo al adecuado proceso del cuidado del medio ambiente, según el estudio realizado por Ibáñez-Forés et al (4) el primer paso para evaluar la ecoeficiencia en las municipalidades de los proveedores de RSU es la estimación de la función de fronteras, obteniendo de resultados que la recolección, el reciclaje y la eliminación de los desechos tuvo un impacto significativo en los costos de prestación de servicios.…”

“…En el contexto acerca de la gestión de residuos sólidos en las municipalidades, la ecoeficiencia ayuda a aminorar el impacto ambiental, sin duda es imprescindible comenzar estas buenas prácticas desde la misma municipalidad y a partir de ahí lograr fomentar la conciencia ambiental en los ciudadanos, de esa manera conseguir minimizar los costos de dichas operaciones, mientras que, en el contexto de la economía circular, los cambios son necesarios para construir una sociedad eco sostenible, que permita lograr un menor impacto ambiental. (4) La literatura que en la actualidad existe analiza todo tipo de actividades sobre el reciclaje y el trato de los residuos sólidos , aunque es necesario mencionar que el reciclaje depende en gran medida de la cantidad de residuos sólidos que se puedan obtener, hasta donde se sabe no existe evidencia de que se considere a estos dos fenómenos en una misma línea de trabajo al menos en las municipalidades, 5 siendo ello una problemática con la que se busca terminar y así lograr favorecer al cuidado del medio ambiente.…”

Circular Economy and Business Models: Managing Efficiency in Waste Recycling Firms

“…Scholarship has analyzed issues related to environmental efficiency and eco-efficiency practices from a multidisciplinary perspective in several industries including the efficiency of recycling firms (Marques et al, 2012), the efficiency of urban waste management (Díaz-Villavicencio et al, 2017; Molinos-Senante et al, 2023; Rios & Picazo-Tadeo, 2021), metal recycling in the cutting tools industry (Raz & Souza, 2018), regional efficiency (Argentiero et al, 2023; Expósito & Velasco, 2018; Romano et al, 2022), waste gas efficiency (Yang & Li, 2018), efficiency in high-grade concrete recycling (Zhang et al, 2019), efficiency in recycling and industrial waste (D. Li et al, 2020), solid-waste management (Bui et al, 2022), and municipal solid-waste recycling (Amaral et al, 2022; Expósito & Velasco, 2018; Ferraro et al, 2023).…”

“…One line of inquiry in efficiency studies is interested in understanding efficiency determinants, including economic, business, social, and environmental factors. Several researchers call for more work on waste reduction and recycling activities as they detect important inefficiencies not only in developed countries (Díaz-Villavicencio et al, 2017; Expósito & Velasco, 2018; Gardiner & Hajek, 2020; Rios & Picazo-Tadeo, 2021; Romano et al, 2022) but also in emerging ones (Bui et al, 2022; Molinos-Senante et al, 2023). From a regional perspective, Yang and Li (2018) find an unfavorable evolutionary pattern of efficiency over time.…”

“…Other socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors considered in performance and efficiency studies are per capita income (a proxy of regional economic development), population density, education level, location, tourism flows, gender, communities, stakeholders, state authorities, financial supports, employment rate, household size, and crimes committed against the public administration (Argentiero et al, 2023; Bui et al, 2022; Díaz-Villavicencio et al, 2017; Expósito & Velasco, 2018; Molinos-Senante et al, 2023; Rios & Picazo-Tadeo, 2021; Romano et al, 2022). Empirical evidence, however, is mixed despite the numerous efforts to disentangle the relative importance of efficiency determinants (Argentiero et al, 2023; Mergoni et al, 2022; Molinos-Senante et al, 2023; Rios & Picazo-Tadeo, 2021; Romano et al, 2022), making further inspections necessary. Government effectiveness and the policies implemented have also been extensively examined to capture the role of institutions (social and economic structures) that help stimulate waste management and behavior, environmental sustainability, choosing the right path to a circular economy, and to health policies (Argentiero et al, 2023).…”