Código Orgánico del Ambiente (COA) y su Reglamento (RCOA)
General environmental code governing integrated waste management, pollution control and environmental permits; the RCOA (2019) implements it.
View regulation · ecolex.orgAndean countries
Ecuador
According to INEC, municipalities collected about 12,898 t/day of waste in 2016, and only 43% of municipalities disposed of it in sanitary landfills (36% open dumps, 21% emergency cells). SEGINUS, the importers' tire management system, has collected over 8.5 million tires, yet a UDLA study estimates more than 50% of used tires end up in dumps or uncontrolled sites.
Regulatory framework
The rules that shape the business
Instructivo para la Gestión Integral de Neumáticos Usados
Classifies used tires as special waste and requires importers and manufacturers to run integrated management programmes with shared responsibility along the chain; it repealed Agreement 020 of 2013.
View regulation · ecolex.orgLey Orgánica de Economía Circular Inclusiva
Sets the transition to a circular economy, regulates extended producer responsibility (arts. 19-26) and includes grassroots waste pickers in waste management.
View regulation · procuraduria.utpl.edu.ecLey Orgánica para la Racionalización, Reutilización y Reducción de Plásticos de un Solo Uso
Regulates the progressive reduction of single-use plastics and requires recycled content and producer/importer responsibility.
View regulation · gob.ecLey Orgánica de Competitividad Energética
Allows an additional 100% depreciation deduction for machinery and equipment for distributed non-conventional renewable self-supply, and extends the 0% VAT rate to PV accessories and wastewater treatment plants.
View regulation · nmslaw.com.ecContext
The residue, in figures
43% / 36% / 21%
Municipalities using landfill / open dump / emergency cell
2016 · ecuadorencifras.gob.ec
Incentives
The Energy Competitiveness Law (2024) grants an additional 100% depreciation deduction for non-conventional renewable self-supply equipment. The Inclusive Circular Economy Law provides for incentives (details not verified). Carbon market, carbon tax and free zones: not verified.
Recommended solution
Which technology fits Ecuador
- Priority feedstock
- Used tires collected by the SEGINUS system and authorised handlers.
- Why
- There is an operating tire EPR system funded by an eco-fee, but more than half of tires remain unmanaged, and pyrolysis adds valorisation capacity with marketable outputs.
Sources consulted
Reference information compiled from public sources as of October 2026. It is not legal advice; confirm each regulation is current before making decisions.
Verification level: Medium
Projects and proposals
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