The project started in April 2021 with a comprehensive baseline assessment of e-waste generation, stakeholder roles, and socio-environmental impacts. Initial projections estimated that the new facility could process up to 170 tons annually within three years, representing about 10% of Cuenca’s produced e-waste. A participatory design process followed, including multiple multi-actor and recycler workshops, leading to a business and operational plan demonstrating potential economic viability, especially through business-to-business supply and gate fees. International cooperation with Swiss partners provided technical expertise, training, and donated equipment, strengthening local capacity.
A key pillar of the project was social inclusion, particularly the integration of informal recyclers, who manage most of Ecuador’s e-waste under precarious conditions. While direct formal integration has been constrained by regulatory, administrative, and institutional barriers, the project laid important groundwork through participatory workshops, awareness-raising, and support for collective organization, notably contributing to the emergence of the COAMA cooperative which brings together more than 30 small associations.