THE MANAGEMENT OF URBAN SOLID WASTE IN MEXICO: A CASE STUDY FROM AN ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Cervantes, Jessica Alejandra Toledo; Castellanos, Carlos Emigdio Quintero

doi:10.1590/S0034-759020220302x

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Revista de Administração de Empresas

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

ARTICLES • Rev. adm. empres. 62 (3) • 2022 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-759020220302x copy

THE MANAGEMENT OF URBAN SOLID WASTE IN MEXICO: A CASE STUDY FROM AN ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

The management of urban waste is a problem for any city, but recent studies have ignored the management of the entities responsible for this issue. To solve this, a case study on urban waste management with a holistic organizational analysis methodology is presented. With this methodology, a profound and systematic approach to the constitutive dimensions of and organization is achieved, which contributes to the understanding of management in complex environments. The study is made about the responsible entity of urban solid waste management, in the second biggest city of Mexico, Guadalajara, and who lives a serious problem in the field.

Keywords:
Organizational analysis; urban solid waste management; case study; organizational theory; Mexico

Period	Description of the change
2015	In that year, 585 tons of garbage were accumulated per day, composed solely of plastics. This amount corresponded to 10% of the total USW generated per day in Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. Using waste separation and recycling, the global mass of waste in the sanitary landfills would reduce, and the recyclable waste would valorize as raw material. As this process did not occur in the state of Jalisco, the recyclable waste went to landfills as garbage (Informador, 2015El Informador, (2015, Marzo, 9). El Informador. La ZMG desaprovecha reciclaje de 585 toneladas de plástico al día. Recuperado de https://www.informador.mx/Jalisco/La-ZMG-desaprovecha-reciclaje-de-585-toneladas-de-plastico-al-dia-20150309-0170.html https://www.informador.mx/Jalisco/La-ZMG... ).
2016	For the second time and due to the same irregularity, Guadalajara’s official sanitary landfill (called Los Laureles) operated by the company CAABSA EAGLE, was partially closed by the State Attorney for Environmental Protection Despite this background, the mayor Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, decided to grant the operation of the household garbage collection service in Guadalajara and the administration of Los Laureles to CAABSA EAGLE for another 15 years (Meléndez, 2016Meléndez, V. (2016, Julio, 7). Clausuran, otra vez, el basurero Laureles. El Diario. Recuperado de https://www.ntrguadalajara.com/post.php?id_nota=43907. https://www.ntrguadalajara.com/post.php?... ). In this period, there was a setback in this area with a reported increase in solid waste generated daily per inhabitant (Respetable, 2016El Respetable. (2016, Diciembre, 17). ¿Qué han hecho alfaro y lemus? Recuperado de http://elrespetable.com/2016/12/17/que-han-hecho-alfaro-y-lemus/ http://elrespetable.com/2016/12/17/que-h... ).
2017	The lack of coordination by municipal and state authorities to define a public policy regarding waste separation in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area has affected the city, after years of negligence and lack of political will (Indigo, 2017Indigo. (2017, Febrero, 22). Residuos a la deriva. Recuperado de https://www.reporteindigo.com/reporte/medio-ambiente-basura-separacion-reciclaje/ https://www.reporteindigo.com/reporte/me... ).
2018	The company CAABSA EAGLE and the Government of Guadalajara were accused of irregularities. Roberto Delgadillo denounced that the local government (Ramirez administration) sold land to CAABSA EAGLE at a price lower than its value. It was located in Gobernador Curiel and Avenida 18 de Marzo; the company intended to use the property as a waste transfer station. However, the inhabitants in that area would be put at environmental risk (Respetable E., 2018El Respetable (2018, Junio, 6). Denuncian más irregularidades entre caabsa y el ayuntamiento tapatío. Recuperado de http://elrespetable.com/2018/06/06/denuncian-mas-irregularidades-entre-caabsa-y-el-ayuntamiento-tapatio/ http://elrespetable.com/2018/06/06/denun... ).

Characteristics of bureaucracy	Value	Reasons
Everything in the organization is governed by rules and regulations	Low	All standards and regulations refer to the unit’s external management with waste generators, but no evidence was shown, nor was there any mention of any standard or regulation that guides the IWMU internally.
Communication is very formal. Every decision is made in writing, as established in the organization’s norms	Medium	There is two-way communication; external issues to the unit are verified through official documents, with the consent and approval of the unit’s top management. When documents, personnel, and tools are requested from other areas, two-way communication is confirmed. Among the participants, the news of the municipality is communicated by email and other electronic means such as WhatsApp. Direct communication with the person in charge of each project is common, so they inform their subordinates.
The work (activities and tasks) is divided to achieve the goals	Medium	The work is divided when several people are contributing to the activity and when this procedure is recognized as valuable to offer the best solutions.
Hierarchy of positions and different levels of positions	High	The IWMU is a vertical organization, and the power is clearly exercised. All processes are taken to the analysis of the head of the organization and leaders of departments
Guidelines standardize procedures and activities	Low	There are no operating manuals to instruct how to carry out activities and procedures. Manuals are under construction.
People are chosen for positions according to their abilities, skills, and particular training	High	The head of the unit, and the leaders of departments, are environmental engineers.
The position assigned reflects the activity performed	Medium	The name of each job position can identify the activities performed by the staff. The score was low because the participants did not name their position exactly as formally designated in the organization chart.

Participant	(Head)	(PS)	(TD)	(COD)	(DLO)	Total
(Head)		3	2	1	0	6
(SP)	3		0	0	0	3
(DT)	2	0		0	0	2
(DVC)	1	0	0		0	1
(DOL)	0	0	0	0		0
Participant	6	3	2	1	0	Total

Participant	(Head)	(PS)	(TD)	(COD)	(DLO)	Total
(Head)		0	1	1	0	2
(SP)	0		0	0	0	0
(DT)	1	0		3	0	4
(DVC)	1	0	3		0	4
(DOL)	0	0	0	0		0
Participant	2	0	4	4	0	Total

Participant	Central tasks
Head of the Unit	Design and implementation of public policies focused on the management of USW
Technical support B Process Support	Environmental Education Program Logistics and support in recreational activities for society Development of projects with continuous improvement of the production process to reduce waste
Manager of projects’ technical control Technical Department	Evaluation, monitoring, diagnoses, and technical studies of waste generation and composition: trash cans, Puntos Limpios, tetrapak, glass, Tianguis del Recycle, oil, public events, annual Christmas tree collection campaign, waste separation in public offices. Determining points to place containers that facilitate waste collection Management of events or activities in which the IWMU may be present. Prepare information sheets and reports, updated with the information of each project.
Assistant C Citizen Outreach Department	Dissemination of Puntos Limpios Environmental education Zero-waste public events
Leader of Department Department of Law and Order	Control of the IWMU’s concentrated information and generation of indicators Completing the matrix with indicators of results Taking the procedures to the online environment Optimization of procedures Response to requests for transparency Releasing opinions on Puntos Limpios with containers to collect separated waste. Preparation of updated information sheets and reports on the opinions released about Puntos Limpios in real estate developments; standards applied to private collectors; operators Culture of operating according to the law

Tasks	Benefits	Results
Central tasks
(1)	+	-
(2)	+	-
(3)	+	-
(4)	-	-
(5)	-
Secondary tasks
(1)	-	-
(2)	+	-
(3)	+	-
(4)	-	-
(5)	+	+
(6)	-	-

Fundação Getulio Vargas, Escola de Administração de Empresas de S.Paulo Av 9 de Julho, 2029, 01313-902 S. Paulo - SP Brasil, Tel.: (55 11) 3799-7999, Fax: (55 11) 3799-7871 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: rae@fgv.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] AUTHOR'S CONTRIBUTION

Jessica Alejandra Toledo and Carlos Emigdio Quintero Castellanos worked on the conceptualization and theoretical-methodological approach. The theoretical review was conducted by Jessica Alejandra Toledo and Carlos Emigdio Quintero Castellanos. Data collection was coordinated by Jessica Alejandra Toledo and Carlos Emigdio Quintero Castellanos. Data analysis was performed by Jessica Alejandra Toledo and Carlos Emigdio Quintero Castellanos. Jessica Alejandra Toledo Cervantes and Carlos Emigdio Quintero Castellanos worked together in the writing and final revision of the manuscript.