Short-term contract periods (contracts usually cover three to five years but in some cases even shorter periods) present a big problem for the operation of such companies because they cannot plan in the long term and therefore they do not invest enough in equipment, i.e. the quality of collection is not improving. Delayed payments by local authorities for the delivered services also increase uncertainty in the operation of w aste management companies. Expert estimation is that the countrywide bill collection rate is around 60 per cent, while in Tirana it was 65 per cent in 2015 and increased to 85 per cent in 2016.