Solid waste management in Mexico’s offshore platform construction: determining potential supply for a reverse logistics process

One of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) is to ensure environmental sustainability. This has led international agencies to regulate the generation of waste, specifically solid waste, which is an issue of international significance. This research is an analytical, statistical, historical and deductive investigation that focuses on the management of municipal solid waste and special handling waste (SHW), specifically, the one generated in the construction of offshore platforms in Mexico. A comparative analysis of the waste generated domestically and in the construction of offshore platforms is done. This work proposes the introduction of a third party operator that, through reverse logistics, would develop strategies to recover, reuse or recycle SHW. The level of compliance of the Waste Management Plans of platform construction companies in Mexico is also analyzed. Currently, nine construction companies distributed in the states of Tabasco, Tamaulipas and Veracruz are building offshore platforms in Mexico. Particularly, the south zone of Tamaulipas has become, since the seventies, the largest provider of offshore platforms. These companies are required by law to report the amount of municipal solid waste and SHW that they generate. However, when analyzing the data provided, results show a great area of opportunity. With a proper management of waste, its recovery and/or disposal would be much more efficient. Data collected in the yards of construction is presented, as well as the current situation of the waste in the offshore platform construction industry and possible methods to strengthen environmental policy in solid waste in Mexico.