Inefficiency in municipal solid waste management in Luanda: economic costs and missed opportunities for recycling and circular economy (2010–2014)

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management represents an increasing challenge for cities in developing countries, often associated with linear models based on collection, transportation and final disposal in landfills. The literature has identified this model as economically inefficient, as it fails to incorporate mechanisms for recovering value from waste. This study aims to analyze the economic efficiency of MSW management in Luanda Province, Angola, over the period 2010–2014, by quantifying direct public costs and the economic value of recyclable materials not captured by the system. Methodologically, the study adopts a case study design based on secondary official data obtained from ELISAL and the Integrated Economic Management System (SIGE). The analysis includes the quantification of landfilled waste volumes, the calculation of total and average public costs per ton, and the estimation of the economic value of recyclable materials based on market prices by waste type. The results indicate that approximately 10.9 million tons of waste were disposed of in landfills, generating public expenditures exceeding 206 billion kwanzas. At the same time, an estimated 162.9 billion kwanzas in recyclable materials were not recovered, particularly plastics and aluminum, whose unit values exceed the average cost of landfilling. These findings reveal a structural economic efficiency deficit, characterized by the coexistence of high public costs and significant losses of economic value. The study concludes that reorienting public policies towards waste management models based on recycling, material recovery and circular economy principles is essential to improving the economic efficiency of the system.