Districts of southern Chile participate in the first Trash-free Neighborhoods meeting

The program promoted by CMPC with the support of Kyklos, which seeks to reduce the amount of waste that reaches dumps and landfills by promoting sustainable practices, held its first session of meetings with the participation of representatives of the municipalities of Los Angeles, Mulchén, Laja, San Rosendo, Nacimiento, Collipulli, Loncoche, and Yerbas Buenas, localities in south-central Chile.

To promote collaboration and knowledge exchange in the field of waste management, the first Trash-free Neighborhoods meeting was held, an initiative of the Trash-free Neighborhoods Challenge that CMPC executes with the collaboration of Kyklos and municipalities of the regions of La Araucanía, Biobío and Maule in south-central Chile, which seeks to reduce the amount of waste that reaches dumps and landfills in the cities throughout the nation.

This event brought together eight participating communities of the Trash-free Neighborhoods Challenge (Los Ángeles, Mulchén, Laja, San Rosendo, Nacimiento, Collipulli, Loncoche, and Yerbas Buenas) in a first online session, during which the results were presented of the Kyklos Study: How much do the municipal districts in Chile recycle?. Antonia Gonzalez, Coordinator of studies and surveys for Kyklos – a B Corporation that promotes environmental culture in different types of communities – presented the findings of this study, which is part of the 2040 Trash-free Chile Challenge and has the support of TodosReciclamos [We All Recycle]. The report covered data from 279 communities, equivalent to 81% of the national total, providing a comprehensive perspective on the progress and challenges in waste management in the country.

Among the main figures analyzed, notably there are 6,766,473 tons of Household Solid Waste, equivalent to the generation of 1.13 kg / day per resident. Of these, 76,227 tons correspond to recoverable waste, equivalent to a recovery rate of 1.1%. In addition, household collection coverage stands at 92% on average in the assessed communities. Furthermore, the districts spend CLP 241,854 million annually on waste management, equivalent to an average of CLP 867 million per district.

The meeting was attended by 34 people. The attendees included municipal managers, environmental managers as well as grassroots managers and recyclers who play a crucial role in the waste management process in the various districts. During the session, key issues were raised, such as the realization that the municipal budget is not the only determining factor to achieve better collection rates, and the identification of parameters such as the specific allocation of municipal resources for recycling.

Paula Aguirre, Deputy Manager of Comprehensive Projects for CMPC Corporate Affairs said, “We are happy to be here today as a company. We hope to have many more meetings and resume in-person ones, at which we can share experiences between the different municipalities and people who participate in this great community called the Trash-free Neighborhoods Challenge.”

Trash-free Neighborhoods meetings will be held bimonthly in virtual format, complemented by biannual in-person gatherings, ranging from talks and exhibitions to workshops and strategic working groups.