Garbage Reform: a Dirtier, Poorer Saint-Petersburg

In November 2021, an auction was held in St. Petersburg that radically reorganized the municipal solid waste (MSW) transportation market. The auction in question is an ascending parallel auction: all lots were sold separately and simultaneously. Due to the peculiarities of the formation of lots, a second stage of distribution was added - the search for subcontracts to fulfill obligations under the contract - which became a source of inefficiency in the system. We are considering possible alternative configurations of lots within the framework of auctions in the market for MSW collection and transportation services. Three configurations are being considered: the division of lots to the level of municipalities [1], to the level of urban areas [2] and the actual structure of lots at the 2021 auction [3]. The comparison criteria used are the lot allocation efficiency, the municipality allocation efficiency and the auctioneer's revenue. These criteria are proposed as a way to assess the optimality of sets at further auctions in the field. We recommend using the smallest possible lots to prevent the formation of conditions for repeated bidding in conditions beyond the control of the auctioneer. Key words: resource auctions; auction theory; double auctions; MSW transport; efficiency of resource allocation; structure of lots; modeling.