A study on the optimisation of the waste services in the region of Harju in Estonia was published in 2015. It shows the probable impact of the implementation of centralised separate biowaste and paper collection in rural areas. The study identified the administrative, economic and logistical benefits of the adoption of inter-municipal cooperation. In rural areas, the main source of costs is transportation (i.e. the fuel consumed and the collection time per tonne of waste is higher). The administrative burden is identified as one of the main barriers for improvement. For instance, in the area analysed, there are 23 officials or more in charge of waste management in the 23 municipalities. However, the multiplicity of tasks of these officials, with a very low specific dedication to waste, could easily be solved with only four officials in charge of a supra-municipal waste structure. In total, 70 % of the municipalities in Estonia have less than 4 000 inhabitants and would benefit from such schemes.