La colaboración estratégica entre recicladores y la industria manufactura de cartón de la ciudad de Cuenca: perspectiva desde la logística inversa y la sostenibilidad

Abstract

Reverse logistics and the circular economy have been consolidated as a basis for reducing the overexploitation of natural resources and taking advantage of recyclable materials in production processes in order to minimize pollution. In this sense, the main objective is to analyze the strategic collaboration between recyclers and the cardboard manufacturing industry in the city of Cuenca from a reverse logistics and sustainability perspective. Therefore, it is a study with a quali-quantitative, descriptive and non-experimental approach. Observation, interview and survey techniques were used for data collection. The sample consisted of 16 organizations of recyclers in the canton of Cuenca and interviews were conducted with representatives of the cardboard industry. Documents and sustainability reports from cardboard manufacturing companies and others related to reverse logistics and the relationship with recyclers were analyzed. It was concluded that in Cuenca there is a group of recyclers that, although they have an organization, one of the barriers is that there is no effective collaboration between them and the cardboard manufacturing companies, the logistical process is not properly established and there are no incentives for recyclers. The existing weaknesses in the collaboration scheme between these actors have a negative impact on the efficiency of the waste cardboard management and recycling process, thus reducing the contribution to environmental sustainability.