The Potential Benefits of Introducing Informal Recyclers and Organic Waste Recovery to a Current Waste Management System: The Case Study of Santiago de Chile

Abstract

Chile has experienced rapid economic growth in recent decades. However, this economic growth has been accompanied by a huge increase in waste generation. Although the country has historically put emphasis on appropriate final disposal of waste through landfill, the environmental problems generated by this activity have shown that it is necessary to improve the national solid waste management approach. Santiago, the capital of Chile, generates about 43% of the national solid waste. A study conducted by the Ministry of the Environment in 2011 found that 14% of the waste generated in the capital is recycled, mostly thanks to local campaigns and collection by the informal sector (scavengers). While in 2009 the government set a target to recycle 25% of municipal inorganic waste by 2020, there is no information on the implementation process to reach this target. Most importantly, the law has not established specific recycling rates for target materials, and, has not taken into consideration organic waste recovery, which accounts for 48% of the total waste stream. In order to meet the government target and at the same time promote organic waste recovery, this study proposes and evaluates the environmental impacts of different viable alternatives for municipal solid waste collection, treatment and recovery by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The proposed scenarios range from the current situation to the introduction of organic waste recovery and the inclusion of informal recyclers in the collection process. By considering the investment and treatment costs of each alternative, the study identifies the most effective scenario in terms of avoided pollutants per cost ratio. Finally, the study analyzes the feasibility of the implementation of the selected scenario by indicating benefits and challenges. The results of the scenario evaluation suggest that the scenario with the highest recovery of inorganic and organic materials, coupled with the participation of the informal collectors, will have a positive impact not only in terms of meeting and surpassing the government goal, but also in the reduction of CO 2 eq emissions. This scenario can reduce by approximately 3.5% the national CO 2 eq generated, with a cost of $14.1/ton. Moreover, the potential reductions of CH 4 account for 8.5% of the national CH 4 emissions and 24.5% of the national waste sector CH 4 emissions.

Formal and informal waste selective collection in developing megacities: Analysis of residents’ involvement in Bolivia

“…The IS can be considered an ally of the formal SCS, since a relevant part of the population deliver the waste to waste pickers and recycling shops, re-directing the streams inflow into the sanitary landfill, and reducing the MSW management costs (Ferronato et al, 2020b). This is common in Latin America: in Santiago de Chile informal collectors transport the waste to an intermediate collector and, at national level, they contribute to about 86% of the total waste that is recycled (Rojas et al, 2018); and in Sorocaba, Brazil, autonomous pickers increase the recycling rate of the city to 9% (Silva de Souza Lima and Mancini, 2017). Therefore, the involvement of waste pickers represents a good option for improving sustainability in recycling activities in Latin American megacities.…”

In search for the sources of plastic marine litter that contaminates the Easter Island Ecoregion

“…50 ; World Bank Indicators) than other Pacific South-American countries such as Peru (25%, 377,000 tons) and Ecuador (30%, 211,000 tons), which have weaker connectivity with 20.6% and 5.1%, respectively (Table 1). Yet, mismanaged plastic for this area may be under-estimated as it does not include the metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile, located ~100 km from shore, hosting 8 million people and generating 43% of the national waste 58 . Mismanaged litter from inland communities reaches the coastal zone of Chile via rivers 57,59 .…”

A country's response to tackling plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems: The Chilean way

“…The need for better planning and analysis to overcome urban inequalities and environmental injustice has already been pointed out (Guibrunet et al, 2017). Despite a number of privately led recycling initiatives and proposals to integrate waste-pickers in municipal recycling systems (Giovannini & Huybrechts, 2017;Navarrete-Hernández & Navarrete-Hernández, 2018;Rojas, Yabar, Mizunoya, & Higano, 2018), recycling rates in Chile are extremely low, rarely exceeding 5% (Valenzuela-Levi, 2019).…”

“…From this overview, it is evident that the possibilities/actions to solve plastic pollution are on land. There is some indication that Chilean consumers are aware of environmental problems (including litter) and willing to take actions (Bronfman et al, 2015;Otto, Kaiser, & Arnold, 2014), but pro-environmental behaviours are typically impeded by lack of infrastructure and environmentally friendly products (Rojas et al, 2018;Valenzuela-Levi, 2019). Thus, whereas better knowledge by consumers is desirable, implementing the legal basis and creating a landscape facilitating responsible consumer behaviour seems far more important.…”

“…Actors and their interactions favouring an equal and democratic society (in green) lead to more wholesome solutions than interactions based on status quo (in red). Creative Commons license CC-BY 4.0 society, personal, institutions, and at the regional level (Guibrunet et al, 2017;Rojas et al, 2018). The SPLACH network can help in these efforts by supporting integration among the different sectors of society, incorporating social sciences in the study agenda, innovation in the development of reusable products (in order to avoid the flawed concept of plastic recycling), and by conducting transdisciplinary research in order to achieve applied solutions to the problem.…”