Central America & Caribbean

Honduras

Per HELVETAS (2024), 89% of the 298 municipalities (266) use open dumps and only 11% have an adequate site or technical closure. The Central District alone collects over 840 t/day (2023). The 2010 regulation already requires tire take-back, but no operating EPR system was verified.

Regulatory framework

The rules that shape the business

Acuerdo Ejecutivo 1567-2010 2010 In force

Reglamento para el Manejo Integral de los Residuos Sólidos

Issued 1 Oct 2010. Classifies used tires as household special waste (art. 17) and requires their generators to set up take-back mechanisms (art. 23); art. 5.d sets extended responsibility for importers and producers. Allows thermal treatment such as pyrolysis and incineration with energy recovery (art. 61.b) and waste use as alternative fuel (art. 76).

View regulation · portalunico.iaip.gob.hn

Decreto 70-2007 2007 In force

Ley de Promoción a la Generación de Energía Eléctrica con Recursos Renovables (reformada por Decreto 138-2013)

Exemption from sales tax and import duties on equipment, 10-year income-tax exemption from commercial operation, and a 10% premium over the base energy price for 15 years. Biomass and urban-waste projects are exempt from resource fees (art. 22).

View regulation · tsc.gob.hn

Context

The residue, in figures

89% (266 de 298)

Municipalities using open dumps

2024 (publ.) · helvetas.org

>840 t/day

Waste collected in the Central District

2023 · elheraldo.hn

2.162.028

MSW generation (tonnes/year)

c. 2010-2016 (What a Waste 2.0, publ. 2018) · datacatalogfiles.worldbank.org

15 (59,9% 'relleno controlado')

MSW sent to open dumps (%)

c. 2010-2016 (What a Waste 2.0, publ. 2018) · datacatalogfiles.worldbank.org

Incentives

Decree 70-2007 (amended by Decree 138-2013): sales tax and duties exempt, 10-year income-tax exemption, 10% price premium for 15 years and 20-30-year PPAs; biomass and urban-waste projects are exempt from resource fees. It is the most explicit waste-to-energy incentive package in the group. Current availability of PPAs with ENEE was not verified.

Which technology fits Honduras

Priority feedstock: Agro-industrial biomass and MSW for power; tires for oil and carbon black
Why: 89% of municipalities use open dumps, the regulation allows pyrolysis and waste-to-energy, and Law 70-2007 grants a 10-year income-tax holiday plus a price premium to biomass and urban waste. That favors gasification for power, with tire pyrolysis backed by the take-back duty (art. 23).

GAS

Gasification

Syngas for on-site power and heat.

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Pyrolysis

From end-of-life tires to products with a market.

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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

Other countries in the region

Panama Costa Rica Guatemala El Salvador Nicaragua Dominican Republic

Projects and proposals

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