Swiss Partners
Ecopartner Ltd., Horgen
www.ecopartner.ch
Heinz Böni
Local Partner
Empresa Pública Municipal de Aseo de Cuenca EMAC EP
EMAC-EP
University of Cuency
www.ucuenca.edu.ec
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Documentation
Swiss Contribution
The Swiss partners Ecopartner, ETH Zurich and Solenthaler Recycling have many years of experience in e-waste management and circular economy strategies in Switzerland, as well as internationally, especially in Latin America.
Description
Cuenca is the third-largest city in Ecuador with 615,000 inhabitants and is facing significant challenges in e-waste management.
This project’s goal is to improve e-waste management, from collection to recycling. To achieve this, the current processes of the municipality’s own waste management company, EMAC-EP, are being optimised, and the existing collection point is being expanded into an e-waste management center. The activities take a comprehensive approach towards repairing, reprocessing and recycling electronic equipment. The accompanying training and the sustainability assessment of the processes are also ensured, in cooperation with the University of Cuenca. In the medium term, the project results are also to be implemented in other regions of Ecuador and Latin America.
Results
Construction of the facility building was completed in early 2025. By the end of the project, the plant was operational as planned, and comprehensive technical documentation, standard operating procedures, and work instructions had been developed. Furthermore, partnerships were established within the supply chain and training programs were launched. In addition, the COAMA Cooperative was founded, bringing together more than 30 small associations. Among other things, it serves as a platform and point of contact for informal waste pickers.
Impacts
In its first year of operation, 14 tons of e-waste were collected and processed, resulting in a reduction of 6 tons of CO2-eq. A total of 130 people were trained, two-thirds of whom were women, and CHF 760’000.- in private funding was raised. Overall, a solid foundation was laid for scaling up the initiative.