MARN

Solid Waste Rules for Businesses in Guatemala 2026: What Agreement 164-2021 Requires

No registration fee in Agreement 164-2021 Separation rules in force (secondary classification since 11 Feb 2025) Updated September 24, 2026 By Estuardo Enriquez

Cost

No registration fee in Agreement 164-2021

Processing Time

Separation rules in force (secondary classification since 11 Feb 2025)

Entity

MARN

Quick Requirements Checklist

MARN Hub: Ministry of Environment Procedures — full directory.
General Environmental License — waste commitments in your environmental instrument are enforceable (Art. 54).
Environmental License Category A — large projects with significant generation.
Environmental Impact Study EIA — includes Waste Plan.
Environmental Diagnostic — for businesses operating without Plan.
Wastewater Discharge Permit — Agreement 236-2006, complementary for industries.
MEM Procedures — energy projects generate special waste.
MAGA Procedures — agribusiness with high volumes of organic waste.

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Legal Basis

Decree 68-86 — Law of Environmental Protection and Improvement Art. 8 and 14

General framework empowering MARN to regulate the management of common and hazardous solid waste, and to sanction non-compliance.

Government Agreement 164-2021 — Regulation for the Integrated Management of Common Solid Waste Art. 12-18, 45, 53-54, 64

Requires everyone who generates common solid waste to separate it at the source (Art. 12, reformed by Agreement 184-2023), sets minimum norms for storage areas and containers (Art. 14-16), requires collectors, transporters and disposal sites to hold environmental authorization (Art. 45), and sanctions infractions with fines set in non-agricultural minimum wages (Art. 53-54). In force since August 2021.

Government Agreement 509-2001 — Regulation for the Management of Hospital Solid Waste Chapters I-VI

Specific regime for bioinfectious, anatomical, chemical and radioactive waste generated by hospitals, clinics, laboratories and offices — complementary to Agreement 164-2021.

Government Agreement 137-2016 — Regulation of Environmental Evaluation, Control and Follow-Up Art. 60-75

Establishes that the Waste Management Plan is part of the Environmental Management Plan included in the EIA or Environmental Diagnostic — tied to the general environmental permit.

⚡ DIRECT ACCESS TO OFFICIAL PORTAL

Solid waste rules — MARN (Agreement 164-2021)

→ Read Agreement 164-2021 at MARN 📞 Call 2423-0500

Before clicking, have ready:

🗂 Source separation: organic / recyclable / non-recyclable (mandatory since 11 Feb 2025)
📦 Storage area and containers that meet Art. 14-16
🚚 An authorized collector (collectors need MARN environmental authorization, Art. 45)
📋 Your environmental instrument, if your business has one: its waste commitments are enforceable (Art. 54)

💰 Registration fee: none in 164-2021 · 🆔 Checked against the text: 24 Sep 2026

Correction (24 Sep 2026): earlier versions of this page described a Waste Management Plan that every business generating more than 25 kg/day had to register with MARN for a Q500 fee, valid 5 years, with fines of Q5,000-Q50,000 under “Art. 60”, an 8-colour container code and an EPR regime. None of that is in Government Agreement 164-2021 or its 2023 reform (Agreement 184-2023). This page now describes only what the text says.

Guatemala’s rules for common solid waste are in Government Agreement 164-2021, Regulation for the Integrated Management of Common Solid Waste, in force since August 2021 and reformed by Government Agreement 184-2023 (published 9 August 2023, in force 10 August 2023). MARN and the Ministry of Health enforce it together with the municipalities (Art. 2).

Quick summary: Every person or company that generates common solid waste must separate it at the source (Art. 12): organic and inorganic, and since 11 February 2025 organic / recyclable / non-recyclable. Storage areas and containers must meet minimum norms (Art. 14-16). Collectors, transporters and disposal sites need MARN environmental authorization (Art. 45). There is no generator registration or fee in the regulation. Infractions are fined in non-agricultural minimum wages (Art. 53); breaching the commitments in your environmental approval costs 1-40 monthly minimum wages per breach (Art. 54).

What the regulation requires of a business

Source separation (Art. 12, as reformed by Agreement 184-2023)

Level	Categories	Since
Primary	Organic · Inorganic	Minimum from the start
Secondary	Organic · Recyclable (paper and cardboard, glass, plastic, metal, multilayer) · Non-recyclable	Mandatory from 11 February 2025

Municipalities may add an extended secondary classification if a characterization study supports it. The container labelling design (colours, icons, typography) is set by a MARN ministerial agreement (Art. 13), not in Agreement 164-2021 itself.

Storage and containers (Art. 14-16)

Storage areas must keep the categories separate and be physically isolated from living, process or commercial areas, keep vectors away, be used only for storage, and be easy to reach on the collection route. Containers must have enough capacity, match the collection equipment, be made of solid corrosion-resistant material and keep rainwater out.

Collection (Art. 18-19, 45)

Waste from public and private areas must be collected at intervals of no more than 72 hours (Art. 18). Companies that collect, transport, transfer, recycle, treat or dispose of waste need MARN environmental authorization before operating (Art. 45), so hire an authorized service.

If your business has an environmental instrument

Waste measures you committed to in your environmental instrument or MARN approval resolution are enforceable: breaching them is fined at 1 to 40 monthly minimum wages per breach (Art. 54). See the environmental licence page.

Sanctions

Infraction	Sanction	Legal basis
Any infraction of the regulation	Fine set in non-agricultural minimum wages by severity, plus a deadline to take corrective measures	Agreement 164-2021 Art. 53; Decree 68-86
Breach of the environmental commitments in your approval resolution or environmental instrument	1 to 40 monthly minimum wages per breach	Agreement 164-2021 Art. 54
Act or omission that may be a crime	The official must file a criminal complaint	Agreement 164-2021 Art. 53

MARN Hub: Ministry of Environment Procedures — full directory.
General Environmental License — waste commitments in your environmental instrument are enforceable (Art. 54).
Environmental License Category A — large projects with significant generation.
Environmental Impact Study EIA — includes Waste Plan.
Environmental Diagnostic — for businesses operating without Plan.
Wastewater Discharge Permit — Agreement 236-2006, complementary for industries.
MEM Procedures — energy projects generate special waste.
MAGA Procedures — agribusiness with high volumes of organic waste.
Register a business and get a NIT.

Official MARN links

Agreement 164-2021 and its reforms (MARN page): https://marn.gob.gt/reglamento-164-2021/
SAGA (MARN online environmental procedures): https://saga.marn.gob.gt/
Hospital Waste Regulation (Agreement 509-2001): marn.gob.gt → Marco Legal
Environmental Evaluation Regulation (Agreement 137-2016): marn.gob.gt → Marco Legal
Environmental Protection Law (Decree 68-86): marn.gob.gt → Marco Legal
MARN central office: 7 avenida 03-67 zona 13, Guatemala City
MARN PBX: 2423-0500
WhatsApp: 3024-3048
Hours: Monday to Friday 8:00-16:00

Sources: Government Agreement 164-2021 (MARN edition, 2021); reform by Government Agreement 184-2023 as published by AGN on 9 Aug 2023; MARN contact page. Checked 24 Sep 2026.

Next step

Environmental impact study (EIA)

Also useful

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a mandatory registered Waste Management Plan for every business?

Not in Government Agreement 164-2021. The regulation (checked against the text on 24 Sep 2026) does not create a waste plan that each business must register with MARN, a 25 kg/day threshold, a registration fee or a 5-year validity; earlier versions of this page said it did. The only plan it creates is the municipal plan (Plan Municipal para la Gestion Integral de Residuos y Desechos Solidos). What it does require of every person or company that generates common solid waste is to separate it at the source (Art. 12). Waste commitments that appear in your own environmental instrument or MARN approval are enforceable (Art. 54).

How must waste be separated?

Under Art. 12 as reformed by Government Agreement 184-2023 (published 9 Aug 2023): primary classification into organic and inorganic, and a secondary classification of organic, recyclable (paper and cardboard, glass, plastic, metal and multilayer) and non-recyclable, mandatory from 11 February 2025 (AGN, 9 Aug 2023). Municipalities may set an extended secondary classification backed by a characterization study. The container labelling design (tipificacion iconografica) is set by a MARN ministerial agreement, not by 164-2021 itself (Art. 13).

Does it cost anything?

Agreement 164-2021 sets no registration fee for generators. Your costs are practical: containers and storage that meet the minimum norms (Art. 14-16) and paying an authorized collector. If your business needs an environmental licence, that has its own MARN fee by category (see our environmental licence page).

What happens if I generate hazardous waste?

Agreement 164-2021 covers common solid waste only. Hospital and similar waste falls under Government Agreement 509-2001 (Regulation for the Management of Hospital Solid Waste), and transboundary shipments under the Basel Convention. Use collectors and disposal sites that hold MARN environmental authorization.

Who has to hold a MARN authorization?

The businesses that collect and transport, transfer, recover and recycle, treat or dispose of common solid waste must hold environmental authorization before operating (Art. 45). A business that only generates waste does not register under 164-2021; it separates its waste and hands it to an authorized service.

What sanctions apply?

MARN sanctions infractions under the Environmental Protection Law (Decree 68-86): a fine set in non-agricultural minimum wages according to severity, plus a deadline to correct (Art. 53). Failing to meet the environmental commitments in your approval resolution or environmental instrument is fined at 1 to 40 monthly minimum wages per breach (Art. 54). The fixed quetzal fines earlier versions of this page gave (Q5,000-Q50,000 under an “Art. 60”) are not in the regulation: Art. 60 is about information systems.

Does Agreement 164-2021 create Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?

No EPR scheme with product lists, recovery targets or semiannual reports appears in the text. Art. 48 instead orders MARN to run a technical diagnosis within three years and set progressive reduction measures, which the regulated parties must implement within a maximum of seven years.

Other common processes

Environmental Diagnostic MARN Guatemala 2026: For Operating Projects Without License (Regularization)MARN Environmental Impact Study EIA MARN Guatemala 2026: Types, Costs, Accredited ConsultantsMARN Environmental License Category A MARN Guatemala 2026: For High-Impact Projects (>Q5M)MARN Wastewater Discharge Permit MARN Guatemala 2026: Agreement 236-2006 (Industrial)MARN AMSCLAE Environmental Complaint Guatemala 2026: Free, Requirements & Steps (Lake Atitlan)AMSCLAE Controlled Final Disposal License Replacement Guatemala 2026: Cost, Requirements & StepsMARN

General information, not legal advice. Guatemalan government procedures and requirements change. Always verify current details directly with the relevant agency before acting. For complex legal matters, consult a licensed attorney.

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