Recycling is a way of life

Over 21 soccer stadiums full of paper and cardboard: Hard to imagine, but that is how much CMPC recycles each year – a total of 800 thousand metric tons in the eight countries where the company operates.

This is waste that no longer litters parks or fields, streets, beaches or garbage dumps; instead, it gets a few more cycles of life.

There is no exact measure of the amount of paper and cardboard waste produced every year; however, in Chile, one of the countries where CMPC operates, official data indicates that over 17 million metrictons of solid waste are produced each year. Only 10% of this enormous amount is recycled. About 80% of the total amount of paper and cardboard thrown away is reused, by far the category with the best recycling performance, followed far behind by oils and lubricants, only 50% of which are recovered. Then, thanks to joint work with paper collectors and other companies, CMPC is responsible for recycling nearly 20% of the total in the country, transforming it into the largest recycler of Chile.

All the paper and cardboard are then transformed, thanks to standardized processes that are highly technological in nature, into a quantity of products such as bags and boxes for various uses and packaging to store or transport food, gifts or souvenirs.

Yet that is not the best part of the story of paper and cardboard recycling. The smallest – yet by far the most important – link in the chain is the waste paper collectors, workers on tricycles that often can be seen going from house to house. These are persons to whom life perhaps has not been kind enough but who can provide for their families thanks to the immortality of paper.

It was them who CMPC wanted to recognize in its first Recycling Gala, celebrated at the Artequin Museum in Santiago, Chile, in the International Day of The Environment, held June 5, 2018.

Five paper collectors were rewarded with materials and tools that will help them to facilitate their daily work. In addition, 152 companies were honored for their contribution on taking care of the environment through its relationship with CMPC and by recycling paper and paperboard.

In addition, the Minister of Environment of Chile´s government, Marcela Cubillos, send a message to the attendees highlighting the work of those who work together in the recycling world: “I congratulate you for the tremendous work you do and especially for your daily commitment taking care of the environment through recycling paper and cardboard”.