**5. Solid waste management**

According to data from the Tulum City Council, in 2014 around 22,636 m3 of (urban solid waste (USW) was collected and in 2015 around 25,606 m3 of municipal solid waste (MSW) was collected. It is estimated that an average of around 180 tons of USW is collected daily, which is deposited in an open-air dump that is located 9.5 km from the housing center on the road towards Coba. The dump is reaching its maximum capacity, to try to solve this problem the local authorities began, in 2010, steps to carry out a sanitary landfill that is located 18 km to the south of the city on federal highway 307 Chetumal-Cancun. The landfill came into operation in 2016 and receives between 100 and 120 tons/day of solid waste. However, no garbage separation system would allow the recycling of some materials, such as paper and cardboard, glass, and plastics. When the sargassum (*Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans*) arrives, in the hot season, there are no alternative places to process the brown algae, other than covering the algae with sand in places where there are no hotels. The growth of the population, as well as the growth of the floating population due to tourism, will increase the need for the collection and processing of MSW, and make the city more vulnerable to solid waste.
