Resumen en español

In Colombia, the acceptance of resource recovery is demonstrated through the high number of municipalities which have introduced this alternative in their integrated solid waste management plans, together with the increasing number of solid waste management facilities (SWMFs) that have been established. This situation also highlights the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the existing experiences as well as research and development around this topic. In this paper, the performance of five SWMFs located in municipalities in northern Valle del Cauca is analyzed. The analysis shows that, despite the fact that SWMFs have operational deficiencies, features such as markets for their products, employment generation and avoided costs in waste disposal in landfills show sufficient grounds for their continuity. Key elements to strengthen SWMFs performance are long-term awareness of service users, adaptation of technologies to the context, enhancement of managerial capacity and better support to resource recovery within the national political framework.