Estonia's Competition Authority has conducted an analysis revealing low competition levels and a trend towards market concentration in the country's organized waste collection tenders, with one dominant player emerging. The authority warns that without intervention, this concentration may deepen in the future.

The analysis identified barriers to market entry, potential competition issues, and a shift towards a monopolistic market structure in the waste collection sector. This trend is leading to decreased profitability, financial pressures on operators during public tenders, and a risk of service quality problems, hindering market development.

The analysis also highlighted the 'winner's curse' phenomenon in waste collection tenders, where winning bidders underestimate costs and service value, leading to contract adjustments later on. To address this, clearer tender conditions are recommended to enable more realistic bidding.

Based on the findings, the Competition Authority has proposed several recommendations to improve competition in the waste collection market, including enhanced supervision, separating waste collection and treatment tenders, and developing standardized contract terms focusing on pricing for additional services.