Sol d Waste Separation
Stations n Matamoros,
Tamaulipas

U.S. - Mexico
Border Program



January 2021

Texas/New Mexico/Chihuahua/Coahuila/Nuevo Leon/Tamaulipas
www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder

The municipality of Matamoros, Tamaulipas
received funding from the Border 2020 Program
to implement an integrated solid waste
management pilot program. It is estimated
that over 700 tons/day of solid waste is
generated within the City from everyday
activities, waste that is neither separated nor
recycled. Taking into account studies
conducted by the Secretaria del Medio
Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) on
Mexico's standard composition of waste, the
city has a potential of 525 tons of recoverable
waste, of which 50% pertains to organic
material, 15% to paper/carton, 5% glass, 3%
plastic and 2% metal. Of the waste that is
produced in Matamoros, it is estimated that
approximately 68% of it is collected by either
the city or other private collection business.
This means the rest of the waste is ending up
in illegal dump sites or the city's parks and
streets. In 2016, at least 44 illegal clandestine
sites were identified. Another common
practice is for the waste to be burned, which
can have an impact to public health due to the
air pollution caused from this practice.

The project aimed to promote both the
collection and proper disposal of recyclable
waste such as: cardboard and paper, cans,
plastic and used batteries. With participation
from its citizens, as

well as support by public and private institutions,
Matamoros hoped by implementing waste
separation and recycling measures, this would
help reduce the impact to the environment and
build environmental awareness among its citizens.

The city placed informational flyers, brochures
and coloring books through city schools and parks,
on topics related to waste segregation and
recycling. Six small solid waste separation stations
were placed throughout the city to help promote
and bring awareness on recycling to its citizens
(Figure 1).

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Figure 1. Recycling station for plastic, paper/carton, metal.

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Solid Waste Separation Stations
in Matamoros, Tamaulipas

Page 2

In addition, the city partnered with the auto service
stations, OXXO, to place 50 battery recycling stations
(Figure 2) where citizens could bring their spent batteries
to properly dispose of, as well as, a formal agreement
with a local recycler to help process any recyclable
material collected throughout the project. Throughout
the project, the municipality staff provided outreach at
schools and workshops at local parks, reaching more than
3,000 children (Figure 3) and 400 additional community
members. In these events, the city provided information
on recycling but taught the community how to compost
and highlight the impact to public health of burning their
trash (Figure 4).

Between April 2019 and February 2020, the city was able
to collect and divert the following recyclables from going
to the landfill: 15 tons of carton, 13.2 tons of aluminum,
17.6 tons of plastic and 3 tons of batteries. Overall, the
staff of Matamoros was able to provide education to the
community on the importance their actions have on
improving their environment by recycling and not burning
their trash. In addition, they showed how vital it is to
implement public and private partnerships within a
community to create a successful sustainable material
management program.

Figure 2. Battery recycling station at
OXXO service station.

Figure 2. Matamoros staff conducting outreach at a school

Figure 4. Matamoros staff conducting outreach at a local park.

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