Coping with house waste management in Cotonou describes how the restructuring process of the 1990s has improved the solid and liquid house waste management systems in the largest urban area of Benin. Its main focus is on the structural and organizational aspects of the reforms with an emphasis on liquid and solid house waste management. Stakeholder and institutional analyses are used to evaluate the impacts and these show persistent government failure - mainly with regard to coordinating different actors and activities, supplying supportive infrastructure and taking necessary steps towards instituting a real dialogue between all stakeholders - with a further difficulty being the deepening economic crisis. The piecemeal approach is damaging to the reforms and more government intervention is needed in these areas of the provision process for effective and efficient waste management systems.