Background

The Coahuila state government promoted the creation of Asociación Pro-limpieza de los Cinco Manantiales de Coahuila, A.C., a non-profit organization formed in partnership with the municipalities of Allende, Morelos, Nava, Villa Unión and Zaragoza and the private company MICARE to operate the regional landfill and ensure compliance with applicable standards and regulations. In 2016, the regional landfill was receiving approximately 45 metric tons of waste a day, was operating in compliance with Mexican standards and had an overall expected useful life of 40 years. Cell No. 1 was expected to reach full capacity in 2017, and Cell No. 2  was under construction. The Sponsor expected to initiate its operation by the end of 2016. 

Each of the five Municipalities is responsible for managing, operating and maintaining solid waste collection and disposal services. Each Municipality had a fleet of trucks to provide collection services to its residents and transport the waste to the final disposal site. Although the collection vehicles used by of Allende, Morelos and Nava were in good condition, they were used extensively, typically operating 16 hours a day. Because of the deteriorated conditions of the collection vehicles used by Villa Union and Zaragoza, the solid waste collected in those communities was disposed of in an open dumpsite.

Description

The project consisted of the acquisition of equipment for solid waste collection and landfill management, including the following components:

• Two solid waste collection vehicles, 21 cubic yards or larger, for the municipalities of Allende and Zaragoza. 
• Three solid waste collection vehicles, 16 cubic yards or larger, for the municipalities of Nava, Morelos and Villa Union. 
• One rubber tire wheel loader/backhoe, for daily landfill operations. 
• One water tank truck, for daily landfill operations. 

Due to limited funds, the Sponsor prioritized the need for collection trucks over other equipment, and the landfill equipment was not purchased as originally planned.

Benefits

The project helped the Municipalities of Nava and Allende increase their service coverage and allowed the Municipalities of Morelos, Villa Union and Zaragoza to replace old collection vehicles in poor condition, for an overall improvement of solid waste management in the five municipalities.