Buenos Aires prepares 10-year waste management tender

The Government of the City of Buenos Aires has initiated preparations for a new 10-year public tender to manage urban hygiene and waste collection. The administration, led by Jorge Macri, aims to reorganize the service into four large clusters. The new model will include waste collection, sweeping, cleaning, and the operation of recycling centers, while also incorporating door-to-door recyclable collection and linking billing to operational compliance and resident evaluations.

A public hearing is scheduled for October 5, 2026, to discuss the technical specifications and terms of the new contract. While the current contracts are extended until September 2028, this process seeks to define the service for the following decade.

The tender allows current concessionaires—including AESA, Cliba, Solbayres, Níttida, and Ashira-Martín & Martín—to compete despite previous sanctions for service failures. Concerns have been raised regarding the impact of the new system on the stability of recycling cooperatives and the potential risks to existing recycling models.