In October 2024, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health raised alarms about the accelerated decreasing lifespan of landfills in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM). The GAM is home to half of the country’s population and relies on two landfills: the Uruka Environmental Technology Park and the Aczarrí Environmental Technology Park. Together, these facilities manage approximately 3,000 tons of waste per day.
The Ministry’s warning stems from the fact that both landfills are reaching a critical point in their operational capacity. At the time, the first landfill was estimated to have only three months of remaining capacity, meaning it would soon be operating beyond its limit. The second and only remaining landfill, located in San Miguel de Desamparados, reduced its projected lifespan from 11 to 3.5 years. This reduction is primarily due to the closure of other landfills, such as Los Pinos in Cartago last July, which has led to an influx of waste from various regions across the country.
According to data shared in 2023 by the Office of the Comptroller General, waste from cantons such as Pérez Zeledón, Vázquez de Coronado, Osa, Puriscal, and Golfito was transported to the Aczarrí Environmental Technology Park, covering distances of up to 200 km. This lack of final disposal options poses significant risks for proper waste management, increases costs, saturates existing landfills, introduces considerable logistical challenges, and amplifies the carbon footprint associated with waste transportation.
Growing Waste Generation
At the same time, waste generation is risind daily. Between 2019 and 2020, an 8% increase was reported, followed by an 11% rise the next year—an upward trend that persists. Despite existing policies aimed at reducing and recovering waste, less than 7% of waste is currently recycled, while the remaining 93% ends up in landfills or inappropriate disposal sites, causing severe environmental and public health consequences.
In an effort to address the crisis, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Federation of Municipalities of San José (FEMETRON) and the French government, signed an agreement in September 2024 to conduct a feasibility study for a waste management plant in San José. Additionally, the Ministry opened a public consultation on a proposed new regulation for the Regionalized Management of Ordinary Solid Waste. This regulation seeks to establish a regionalized waste management system and create Environmental Parks and transfer stations.
However, in January 2025, various municipal associations opposed the regulation, arguing that it fails to consider local specificities and the unique challenges communities face in waste management. Additionally, the proposed one-year timeline for developing the environmental parks has been deemed “unrealistic” by municipalities.
Meanwhile, private initiatives are attempting to meet the market demand by developing new landfills. However, these projects face strong opposition from local communities. This is the case in the canton of Mora, where community members argue that the proposed landfill lacks proper access roads and that the site is affected by a seismic fault and underground water sources.
The technical shortcomings of these proposed projects, combined with widespread community resistance to having a landfill nearby, suggest that this disposal method may not be a viable long-term solution.
Challenges and Opportunities
Four major challenges must be addressed:
- The continuous increase in waste generation.
- Limited final disposal options.
- Low waste separation rates.
- Lack of local waste management infrastructure.
However, despite these challenges, there is an opportunity to transition toward a more efficient and sustainable waste management system.
International collaboration initiatives, emerging technological solutions, and policies centered on the circular economy are critical steps that must not be overlooked. Additionally, it is essential for the government to take a leadership role in decision-making and for citizens to actively participate in waste reduction and proper disposal. Failing to act now could lead to irreversible consequences in the country’s solid waste crisis.