Mexico City generates 12 thousand tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) per day, which places it as one of the cities that produces the most MSW in the world. However, the treatments used in the city are not enough for recycling materials and organics valorization of at least 45% of the MSW, which is the minimum for a medium-high-income city. To put in a global context the deficiency in Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) in Mexico City and evaluate the policies that have been implemented thus far, Wasteaware benchmark Indicators for Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM) were used to obtain a desired profile for the comprehensive MSWM in Mexico City. The Wasteaware Benchmark Indicators have been tested in more than 50 cities around the world. The results showed that in Mexico City, certain aspects of governance present the most considerable delay and, at the same time, that there are certain areas of opportunity to improve the efficiency of MSWM in its physical aspects, such as collection systems or treatment services.

With 19 million inhabitants, Mexico City is the most populated agglomeration in Latin America, concentrating 30% of the national population. More than 61% of municipal solid waste (MSW) is sent to landfills, and 13% of MSW is recovered by Informal Sector Recyclers (ISRs) for recycling, which is the most crucial treatment option in the city. This article adopts a systemic approach to addressing the problem of the operationalization of relationships between ISRs and public services in Mexico City to design a recursive organizational structure with the identification of the critical roles and functions of management and governance in multi-level and multi-stakeholder relationships to integrate ISRs into MSW management. Using the Viable System Model (VSM) recursive structure to propose functional organizational structures in Mexico City is a new route for the study and application of systemic thinking in ISR integration. The VSM of the recycling system in Mexico City considers the recycling activities and characteristics of the territory at each recursion level. The authorities of the corresponding hierarchical level, who have sufficient knowledge of the physical and socioeconomic characteristics of the territory, are responsible for the design and operations.

This article aims to conduct a techno-economic feasibility assessment of producing energy by waste incineration and methane capture in the central region of Mexico. Three scenarios at different efficiency rates were considered: 50, 80 and 100%. For the methane project, yields and power capacity were determined using the potential generation rate and the degradable organic carbon content through the LandGEM model. For incineration, the waste calorific potential and the average moisture content were used to estimate the achievable electrical performance. The estimated annual energy was 35,018 GWh for methane, compared to 537.71 GWh for incineration. Both projects reported financial economic feasibilities when evaluated at a discount rate of 12%. Incineration reported an net present value of US$49,942,534 and an internal rate of return of 26% in contrast to US$4,054,109 and 17% for the methane project. Although the payback period for incineration was lower than for methane, its levelized cost of energy was significantly higher. These results are intended to assist the decision-making process when planning and developing waste management strategies under principles of circular economy in Mexico and similar regions worldwide.

This research aims to compare, from a technical and financial perspective, the application of biological (methane-capture) and thermal (incineration) treatments of waste in Mexico City in order to generate clean energy. For each alternative, pessimist (50%), realistic (80%), and optimistic (100%) scenarios were considered in terms of the efficiency collection rates of methane and the efficiency of the capacity conversion factor for incineration. For the methane project, the LandGEM model was used to evaluate the potential generation of methane. In order to calculate the electricity output that could be generated through incineration, we relied on two key factors: the total amount of heat that could be generated by burning the waste and the average level of moisture in the waste material. The evaluation resulted in an annual energy generation of 206.09 GWh for methane and 4183.39 GWh for incineration, both in the realistic scenario. Both projects reported positive financial indicators with a discount rate of 12%. Incineration resulted in a net present value of USD 706,377,303 and an internal rate of return of 23% versus USD 4,975,369 and 24% for the methane project. However, the incineration project only became feasible by omitting financing. Incineration resulted in a payback period that was lower by a ratio of 2:1 compared to methane, but the levelized cost of energy resulted in higher figures (USD 216.92). The aim of these findings is to support the decision-making process for the creation and implementation of sustainable energy strategies based on circular economy principles in Mexico and other similar regions across the globe.

This study aims to create a reference framework to evaluate the technological capabilities (TCs) of public research centers in Mexico through their characterization, measurement, and statistical analysis for decision making on technological strengthening. Additionally, the study seeks to understand the context in which innovation and linkage activities occur within the research system and highlight the importance of integrating such studies into academic institutions. Using this generic framework, public research centers (PRCs), in addition to identifying weaknesses in the development of capabilities at the organizational level, could determine the level of development at which their TCs are located to address social demands and promote collaboration models between university and industry. To achieve this objective, 228 surveys were carried out per stage among researchers from the PRCs in Mexico. Each stage was composed of one questionnaire. Questionnaire 1 considered aspects of investment capabilities, assimilation, modification, support, and linkage. Questionnaire 2 was used to collect data on scientific productivity based on evaluation criteria established by the National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies (CONAHCyT). The aspects covered included infrastructure, scientific publications, intellectual property, postgraduate programs, and collaborative projects. The results indicate that the majority of Mexican PRCs have developed basic and intermediate TCs, with 77% involved in applied research and technological development, but from the total research projects, only 8% present higher levels of technological maturity. The originality of the study lies in the quantitative measurement of TCs within the Mexican PRCs for the benefit of innovative and high-performance work systems, addressing a gap in the existing literature, and could be extrapolated to other universities of developing countries.