February 2021

20210208 report Waste Management Study LATAM

Waste Management Country Report: Peru

paper aims
This paper aims to
toprovide
provideaabetter
better understanding
understanding of business
of business opportunities
opportunities for
the Netherlands in waste/circular economy
for the Dutch waste/CE sector in Peru sector in Peru

Executed by: Holland Circular Hotspot

Assigned by:

Supported by:
 PERU

Country Information Key Indicators

Peru is 31 times larger than
Size the Netherlands
Population (2019) 33.2 millioni
Peru is famous for its culture, the ancient Inca city of Machu
USD 230.7 Billion
Picchu and its delicious raw fish dish called ceviche. The country, Nominal GDP (2019) world rank: 50thii
bordered by Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile, is rich
GDP per capita USD 13,416iii
in natural resources such as copper, silver, lead, zinc, oil and gold. (2019)
Peru’s economic development has in large part been driven by this Import from the USD 49 millioniv
abundance and by the high commodity prices on the global market NL (2018)
(MVO Nederland, 2017). Economic growth 4%v
(2018)
The capital (and main) city Lima is home to 10 million out of the Ease of doing 76/190vi
31.8 million Peruvians. The city is divided into 43 districts, which business
rank (2019)
all have full autonomy regarding waste management.
Corruption index 101/180vii
(2019)
Unemployment rate 6.6%viii
(2019)
1. The Waste/CE Market Analysis Currency Sol (S)
Time difference NL -6/-7 hours
1.1 Facts & Figures Waste Generation and
Composition districts (119 out of the 1874) dispose of their solid waste
at controlled landfills. However, these 119 districts are
In 2018, Peru produced 7.3 million tons of Municipal important in terms of volume. 49.2% of the total amount
Waste, or 0.63 kilograms per person per day. 57.7% was of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is generated there.
organic waste; 18.3% recyclables such as plastic, Officially, almost 15% of the municipalities practice
aluminum and paper; and 24.1% was residual wasteix. Of open air burning of the waste, but in practice most of the
the 20,000 tons of garbage produced daily, a third is municipalities have an illegal dumpsite, since it is
generated in Lima. According to official data, only 1% cheaper.
of the municipal waste is being valorized; 4% of the dry
recyclable waste and 1% of organicsx. Information is In some medium-sized cities other private companies
scarce and mostly limited to the formal sector, even collect and transport the waste to the landfill, such as the
though the informal sector recycles more than the formal French companies Seche and Veolia and the Colombian
sector. company Interaseo. Companies interested in offering
waste management services must be officially registered
Additionally, 28.9 million tons of non-Municipal Waste at the Ministry of Environment (MINAM). The list of
per year is generated, 59.5% of which comes from companies can be found here.
industry, 16.1% from agriculture and 9.5% from mining
(National Environmental Action Plan 2011-2021 1.2.2 Waste Disposal
PLANAA). All in all, the country has 52 landfills (four of which in
1.2 Collection and Disposal Lima) and 1,585 dumpsites. 98% of the dumpsites
should be closed while 2% could be converted into
1.2.1 Waste Collection official landfillsxi. Because of their extensive
Peru has a Municipal Solid Waste collection coverage of knowledge, Dutch consultancy and equipment producer
93.7%. However, in 80% of the municipalities the waste companies can play an important role in this process.
ends up at dumpsites (PLANAA). Only 6.4% of the
1
In Lima, the collection of 9000 ton of municipality dumped along with domestic solid waste, or delivered to
domestic waste is carried out daily by six private one of the three national recycling plants, located in
companies. Innova and Petramas operate both two of the Lima (PLANAA). Control and enforcement are weak,
four landfills. The municipalities are the owners of the among others because of lack of human resources.
landfills and determine which company gets to operate
In October 2020, MINAM presented a draft version of
them. The tipping fee for waste companies is
EPR-legislation on tiresxvi. A final version is expected
approximately € 3.95/ton.
soon. This legislation will open new markets for Dutch
Hospital waste is disposed in the landfill, at a separate companies in tire recycling. In the third year after
location, but without further measures. Lima has two approval of the law there will be a 15% recycling target.
small incinerators for hospital waste.
The Peruvian government is also working on EPR-
1.3 Value Chain legislation for batteries. This legislation is expected to be
presented by the end of 2020 or beginning 2021. As for
1.3.1 Recycling packaging waste, the country decided to first gather
In Peru, there are more than 98,000 informal waste information on how much packaging waste is being
pickers, and only 1,800 formal onesxii. As a result of the produced and by whom before implementing this EPR-
“Waste Pickers Law” (Law No. 29419), local legislation. The Netherlands, being one of the first
governments primarily focus on informal waste pickers country that implemented this legislation, could take a
in their recycling plans. As a result, most of the proactive role in defining the framework, data gathering
organizations are (in)formal small companies, which and supporting packaging producers.
makes it rather difficult for Dutch companies to find An inspiring example of Peruvian-Dutch cooperation in
business opportunities in the collection of municipal plastics recycling is already in full swing. Banana
recyclable waste. plantations in Peru use plastic bags to protect the
The separation of organic and inorganic waste is bananas from bugs and enhance fruit growth. These bags
underdeveloped and, in most cases, does not take place tend to end up in the environment after use. The Dutch
at all (MVO Nederland, 2017). As a result, the national banana supplier Agrofair, the consultancy company
government implemented a strategy on source WASTE and the technology provider Plastic Fantastic
separation with the local governments (PLANAA). If the have teamed up to develop corner boards out of recycled
municipalities comply with their goals, they receive plastics to protect the banana pellets during shipment.
money from the Ministry of Economics and Finance The first recycling line has now been placed at one of
(MEF), as established in the Decree Nº 362-2019-EFxiii. AgroFair’s banana suppliers. The corner boards are
The implementation of selective collection systems can being produced, saving a lot of virgin plastic.
offer opportunities for Dutch equipment producers, but In Peru, the management of construction and demolition
as well for organisations that specialize in data waste (C&D waste) is regulated since 2013xvii. The
management. Ministry of Housing obliges producers to present a waste
When it comes to special waste streams, the country has management plan annually, which includes among
taken first important steps. For example, Extended others amount of waste produced, a strategy on
Producer Responsibility (EPR)-legislation for E-waste classification, separate collection and final disposal and
was implemented in 2012, then updated in 2019xiv. This education campaigns. However, to date the country does
legislation establishes that 50% of used electronics has not have any Construction & Demolition waste recycling
to be treated and recycled adequately in 2017, rising to facility. As a result, Construction & Demolition waste
100% in 2021. In addition, in May 2013 the National ends up in landfills or is dumped illegally, for example
Superintendency of State Assets has approved a national at designated beaches. In October 2020, the Ministry of
directive for the adequate discharge and treatment of E- Housing presented a new lawxviii to incentivize the
waste of public entities. This is around 30% of the total valorization of Construction & Demolition waste and the
E-wastexv. Although the national government has use of recycled building materials. The design of this law
regulated E-waste, in most cities the E-waste is still

2
and the demand for (recycling) infrastructure offer 2. Governance on Waste/CE
promising business opportunities for Dutch companies.
2.1 Waste Management
1.3.2 Composting
The Ministry of Environment (MINAM), created in
Agri-food is one of the biggest economic activities in 2008, is responsible for the National Solid Waste policy.
Peru and also one of the largest exporting sectors, It has designed and implemented the national solid waste
especially to the Netherlands. According to MVO management plan (PLANRES) and supports the
Nederland (2017), for many Dutch (start-up) companies provincial (PIGARS) and district (PMRS) solid waste
it is of great interest to invest in the valorization of agri- management plans. The PIGARS 2015-2025xxii of the
food residue streams in Peru, both from an economic and Municipality of Lima is the most important local plan.
an environmental perspective. As an example, experts
from Wageningen UR and TNO are already looking for The National Environmental Plan 2011-2021
opportunities to apply their expertise in Peru. Last year, (PLANAA) of MINAM includes specific guidelines on
the Dutch Agricultural Counsellorxix participated with waste management and a special chapter on promoting
several Dutch companies in the biggest Latin American public and private investment in the sector. The
Poultry Congress. Among other options they presented PLANAA specifies the following goals for 2021:
solutions for the valorization of organic waste.
• 100% of the non-recyclable waste is treated and
On the other hand, the national governmentxx obliges disposed of adequately
municipalities to properly treat and use their organic
• 100% of reusable solid waste is recycled
waste. The compost must be used to improve the soil of
municipal parks and gardensxxi. Sectoral experts indicate • Compared to 2012, the generation of hazardous
that Peruvian companies are looking for solutions to waste is reduced by 20%
process fruit, vegetables, fish and seafood for
composting and animal feed. • 100% of hazardous waste is treated properly and
disposed of in appropriate facilities
1.3.3 Waste to Energy
It is clear that these goals will not be met by 2021, but
Waste to Energy has been applied in Peru in a sense that no doubt it is important and useful to aim high.
the company Petramas installed a power plant at the
Huaycoloro landfill site near Lima (Worldbank, 2012). The PLANRESxxiii 2016-2024 was developed by the
The grid connected system converted methane of the government, in partnership with the United Nations and
landfill into 4 Mega Watts of clean electricity, enough to 800 stakeholders from the public, private and civil
power 9,000 homes. This project was carried out under society sectors representing a total of 271 institutions in
the Netherlands Clean Development Mechanism Peru.
Facility. The carbon credits helped to sustain the project. The Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) formulates,
A similar project was carried out at the former waste executes and supervises the national and sectoral
dump known as La Cucaracha in the Municipality of Industrial policiesxxiv. In the field of waste management,
Callao. the Ministry works together with MINAM in the
The Ohio based company Eco Waste Solutions installed supervision and control of the EPR framework and the
a Waste to Energy batch system facility for a mining management of several funds.
community of 1,600 in the Alto Chicama region of Peru. Decree nº 1278, published in December 2016, regulates
2 tons of solid waste and 250 l of liquids per day are the Law on the Integrated Management of Solid Waste
being processed in parallel through a pyrolysis process. and lays the foundation for the transition towards a
To date there is no large-scale waste incineration facility circular economy. In May 2020, this law was updated.
in Peru, although Lima appears to have the appropriate The new version nº 1501xxv facilitates the reactivation of
size for it. The Peruvian Government has not yet the economy after the pandemic. It contains several
developed a strategy to implement this. important changesxxvi which make it easier for
companies to recycle their solid waste. The obligation

3
that the waste must be collected and transported by fishing and agriculture sectors (due by the end of this
official service providers was skipped. Companies now year).
can deliver their waste to formal recyclers' associations.
In January 2019 Peru signed the New Plastics Economy
Besides, the new law includes less strict requirements for
Global Commitment, promoted by the Ellen MacArthur
waste collection centers and allows companies to
Foundation.
valorize their organic waste (<2tons per day) without a
license. The latter change can make it easier for Dutch 3. Financial Aspects
companies to offer their small scale and mobile
equipment. In addition, the Decree1278 makes it In Peru, citizens pay their fee for collection and final
possible to exchange C&D waste between construction disposal directly to the municipality as part of the
projects without a license. municipal tax. This appears to be a good arrangement
but in practice, only 18% of residents pay for waste
In December 2018, Law nº 30884 was approved. This management (MVO, 2017). The new waste management
law regulates the use of single use plastics as well as law allows municipalities to charge the waste tax
plastic packaging. It introduces the obligation for through the electricity or water bill.
producers to use at least 15% postconsumer recycled
material in PET bottles starting 2022. It also defines Various funds can be used to implement waste
incentives for replacing single use plastic bags by management projects:
reusable onesxxvii. • National Environment Fund – FONAM
In Peru, the different ministries are responsible for the
• National Fund for Science and Technology –
waste that is generated in their sector. The Ministry of
FINCYT
Economy and Finance (MEF) plays an important role in
financing the different waste programs designed by • Fund for the Promotion of Regional and Local Public
MINAM., in 2018 220 million USD in incentives were Investment - FIDT
given.
• The National Program of Innovation for
2.2 Policy Landscape: Circular Economy Competitiveness and Productivity: Innóvate Perú.
The National Competitiveness and Productivity Plan Additionally, companies can use their income taxes to
2019 – 2030xxviii includes the objective to “generate the invest in infrastructure projectsxxxi.
conditions for the transition towards a circular and eco-
efficient economy”. As a follow-up to this, MEF is 4. Stakeholders
preparing two so called roadmaps: one for the industrial As presented in the report, the private sector in Peru
sectors and another one with guidelines for fishing and plays an important role in the transition towards a
agriculture. circular economy. Many companies have been involved
At the end of 2018, the National Society of Industries in the design of the national waste management policy
(SNI) launched a Circular Economy Commission. The and the roadmaps. In many cases the Government
main objective was to find out how the Peruvian expects the private sector to play an active and risk-
industries are going to make the shift towards circular taking role in the development of infrastructure for waste
economy models. The Commission consists of Coca management projects through Public Private
Cola Peru, Pamolsa, Owen Illinois Peru, Nestlé Peru, Partnerships (PPP’s). For Dutch companies this means
OPP Film, the Cooperation of Plastic industries and that by default they will have to work with and through
Tetra Pak Peruxxix. Peruvian partner companies, as they are not likely to
enter as investment partners themselves.
The SNI worked together with MINAM and PRODUCE
to prepare the Circular Economy Roadmap for the Peru has the following important private associations:
Industry. This Roadmap was approved and presented by • National Society of Industries
the national government in February 2020xxx. Currently,
the government is developing the Roadmap for the • Foreign trade society: ComexPerú

4
 • National Quality Institute additional light on specific opportunities for Dutch
companies concerning the sustainable management of
Like many Latin American countries, Peru has an NGO
landfilling.
created by multinational companies to finance the
implementation of recycling projects. In Peru, this 6.2 Processing of Organic Waste
organization is called Reciclame. Overall, companies in
The scope and importance of the agriculture sector
the beverage sector such as Coca Cola and Arca
makes the valorization of agri-food residue streams in
Continental Lindley are taking a frontrunners role by
Peru an interesting market for Dutch companies. Dutch
implementing waste management and circular economy
companies no doubt can contribute useful know-how
projectsxxxii. These companies also tend to be member of
and infrastructure for efficient organic waste
one or multiple committees of the national society of
management, for municipal as well as the industrial
industries or one of the chambers of commerce.
sector. Promising areas include small-scale and mobile
5. Dutch–Peruvian Cooperation equipment for the processing of organic waste, for
example of municipal marketplaces.
Verstappen Environmental Consultancy and five
subcontractors from the Netherlands and Peru (private
sector and NGO's) are executing the study “Solid Waste 6.3 Tire recycling and C&D waste
Management Peru, Lima and Piura”. The main activities
include waste characterizations, optimization of existing In Peru, the management of special waste streams is not
landfills and methane extraction, design of new landfills, fully developed yet. Dutch consultancy companies and
rehabilitation of illegal dumpsites and organizing the providers of equipment can help the country with the
involvement of the informal recycling sector. The development of these frameworks, business models and
project takes place between 2019 and 2021 and is carried equipment. For example, the design of necessary EPR
out in close cooperation with the Netherlands Embassy systems and offering solutions for tire recycling and
and RVO. recycling infrastructure for C&D waste to enhance a
circular economy.
Bart van Hoof of the University los Andes in Bogotá is
helping the Peruvian government with the design of the 7. Concluding remarks
national circular economy strategy.
Since 2017, the government has made big steps forward
6. Business Opportunities by introducing the first circular economy roadmap, the
updated waste management law 1501 and the C&D
After their study in Cusco in 2017, MVO Nederland waste valorization legislation. Additional steps should
concluded that in Peru there is the will to work on the be taken by the different ministries and their sectors to
waste issue, but the challenges are as yet numerous. have a sustainable waste management system, in not
These include a lack of technical know-how and only the principal cities but as well in the rural areas.
hardware, an absence of efficient logistics and limited Afterwards, the country will be ready to implement a
resources of local governments to tackle the challenges circular economy strategy.
at hand (in terms of budget as well as human resources).
As a result, the following business opportunities were
singled out.

6.1 Sustainable landfilling

Most of the waste in the country is still deposited in
dumpsites and only a small fraction of municipality
waste is valorized. The process of closing illegal
dumpsites and designing and implementing of landfills
that meet official requirements is part of the Dutch waste
management history. Hopefully, the ongoing study of
Verstappen Environmental Consultancy will shed
5
 References
i xx
International Monetary Fund (2019). Country Data: Peru, Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas, Programas de
www.imf.org. Incentivos para la Mejora de la Gestión Municipal (Metas
ii
World Economic Outlook Database (2020). Country Data: 2020), Website, www.mef.gob.pe/index.php.
xxi
Peru, www.imf.org/en/. Equipo técnico de la Dirección General de Gestión de
iii
The World Bank (2019). World Development Indicators, Residuos Sólidos, Guía para el cumplimiento de la Meta 3
(database), https://databank.org. del Programa de Incentivos a la Mejora de la Gestión
iv
Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Municipal correspondiente al 31 de diciembre del año 2020,
2020. Resource Trade Earth, Lima, Peru. Website, www.mef.gob.pe/contenidos.
xxii
https://circulareconomy.earth/trade. Ministerio del Ambiente & Sistema Nacional de
v
The World Bank (2019), GDP annual growth, (database), Información Ambiental, Ordenanza Municipal N° 1803-
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator. 2014-MML .- Ordenanza que aprueba el Plan Integral de
vi
The World Bank (2020). Doing Gestión Ambiental de Residuos Sólidos de la Provincia de
Business,www.doingbusiness.org. Lima, (22 july2014), Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima,
vii
Transparency International (2019). Corruption Index, Peru, Website, https://sinia.minam.gob.pe/normas.
xxiii
(database), www.transparency.org/Peru. Ministerio del Ambiente & Sistema Nacional de
viii
International Monetary Fund (2019). Unemployment Rate, Información Ambiental, Plan Nacional de Gestión Integral
(database), de Residuos Sólidos 2016-2024 (July 2017), Website,
ix
Equipo técnico de la Dirección General de Gestión de https://sinia.minam.gob.pe/documentos.
xxiv
Residuos Sólidos, Guía para el cumplimiento de la Meta 3 del Plataforma Digital Unica del Estado Peruano, Ministerio
Programa de Incentivos a la Mejora de la Gestión Municipal de la Producción, Website, https://www.gob.pe/produce.
xxv
correspondiente, Lima, Peru. Website, El Peruano (11 May 2020), Decreto Legislativo que
www.mef.gob.pe/contenidos. Modifica el Decreto Legislativo no 1278, que aprueba la Ley
x
Equipo técnico de la Dirección General de Gestión de de Gestión Integral de Residuos Solidos, Peru, Website,
Residuos Sólidos, Lima, Peru. Website, https://busquedas.elperuano.pe.
xxvi
www.mef.gob.pe/contenidos. PPULegal (12 may 2020), Se modifica la Ley de Gestión
xi
Informe Defensoría # 181- ¿Dónde va nuestra basura? (19 Integral de Residuos Sólidos, El Estudio Iberoamericano,
November 2019), Recomendación para mejorar la gestión de Website, www.ppulegal.com/covid.
xxvii
residuos sólidos municipales, Lima, Peru. Website, Ministerio del Ambiente & Sistema Nacional de
www.defensoria.gob.peru. Información Ambiental, Ministerio del Ambiente, Website,
xiixii
Informe Defensoría # 181- ¿Dónde va nuestra basura? (19 https://sinia.minam.gob.pe/novedades.
xxviii
November 2019), Recomendación para mejorar la gestión de Consejo Nacional de la Competitividad y Formalización
residuos sólidos municipales, Lima, Peru. Website, 2019-2030, Plan Nacional de Competitividad y
www.defensoria.gob.peru. Productividad, Website,
xiii
Andina: Agencia peruana de Noticias (31 December 2020), https://www.mef.gob.pe/concdecompetitividad
xxix
Municipios implementarán el Sistema Integrado de Manejo de Grupo Stakeholders SAC (08 June 2020), Hoja de Ruta
Residuos Sólidos, Lima, Peru, News blog, para la Economía circular es un vehículo de transformación
https://andina.pe/agencia/. sostenible de la industria, Lima, Peru, Website,
xiv
El Peruano, Aprueban el Régimen Especial de Gestión y https://stakeholders.com.pe/informes
xxx
Manejo de Residuos de Aparatos Eléctricos y Electrónicos, El Peruano, Decreto Supremo que aprueba la Hoja de
Peru, News site, https://busquedas.elperuano.pe Ruta hacia una Economía Circular en el Sector Industria,
xv
Ministerio de Ambiente, Gestión de Residuos de Aparatos Lima, Peru, https://busquedas.elperuano.pe/normaslegales
xxxi
Eléctricos y Electrónicos, Lima, Peru. Website, Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas, Obras por
https://cdn.www.gob.pe/uploads. Impuestos, Lima, Peru, Website, www.mef.gob.pe/es/obras-
xvi
Plataforma Digital Unica del Estado Peruano (16 October por-impuestos.
xxxii
2020), Lima, Peru, Website, www.gob.pe. America Retail (27 August 2020), Sostenibilidad:
xvii
El Peruano (8 February 2013), Aprueban Reglamento para Minam y Produce reconocen a las primeras empresas que
la Gestión y Manejo de los Residuos de las Actividades de la cumplieron al 100% con el Acuerdo de Producción Limpia
Construcción y Demolición, Lima, Peru, Website, en materia de residuos sólidos, News blog,
https://busquedas.elperuano.pe https://www.america-
xviii
Plataforma Digital Unica del Estado Peruano (14 October retail.com/sostenibilidad/sostenibilidad-minam-y-produce-
2020), Resolución Ministerial N° 257-2020-VIVIENDA, reconocen-a-las-primeras-empresas-que-cumplieron-al-100-
Ministerio de Vivienda, Construcción y Saneamiento, Lima, con-el-acuerdo-de-produccion-limpia-en-materia-de-
Peru, Website, https://www.gob. residuos-solidos/
xix
Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit.
Colombia, Ecuador, en Peru, Website, www.agro.nl

6
JOINT THE GLOBAL CIRCULAR
COMMUNITY
www.hollandcircularhotspot.nl
LinkedIn: Holland Circular Hotpot
Facebook: Holland Circular Hotspot
Twitter: @CircularHotspot
[email protected]

International newsflash:
https://mailchi.mp/hollandcircularhotspot/newsflash

Dutch newsflash:
https://mailchi.mp/hollandcircularhotspot/nieuwsupdate-nl

The Regional Business Development LATAM

team (RBD-LATAM)
[email protected]