34 recycling programs for 34 municipalities...

Recycling barely exists in Santiago, and even less so in Chile. Yes, the culture and habit to separate trash for recycling does not exist for a large portion of the population. But my biggest frustration is that even if I want to make the effort to recycle, living in Providencia (in a building of ~800 people, nonetheless), there are literally no options to recycle anything other than glass, newspapers, old books and batteries- unless I bring my recyclables to one of the university campuses, urban parks, or public buildings that have separate receptacles for recycling. But looking closely there are several separate initiatives and recycling projects within the city- the Punto Limpio in Vitacura, recycling pick-up in Ñuñoa Recicla, the Coca-Cola or EcoChilectra pilot programs in Peñalolén, vermicultura in La Pintana… but nearly every single project is completely separate from the other, serving a different municipality and being funded distinctly. This separation of the municipalities- thirty-four in all for Santiago- is fundamental and I believe a huuuuuge institutional challenge, one that is often overlooked by foreigners criticizing Santiago for lack of recycling.

Each comuna essentially has its own trash system, just as it generally has its own schools and hospitals. By and large it is the same with recycling, unless a separate, non-governmental entity (such as CODEFF) organizes a limited recycling program to raise funds. I was told that this system of decentralization was installed during the Pinochet regime… believable. As one can imagine the debates of inequality are rampant in Santiago; some municipalities such as Providencia and Santiago Centro have a larger tax base and are capable of spending many times more per resident than comunas such as La Pintana and Peñalolén, which have less income. Fact of the matter is, it is (~3x's) more costly to recycle a ton of trash at the Punto Limpio in Vitacura (a wealthier comuna) than it is to conventionally dispose of a ton of trash. The objective of the center is not economical, but rather exists for environmental and education benefits in one of the wealthier municipalities. This promulgates the cycle of disparity, as poorer comunas become less environmentally conscious (not to mention have inferior health and education systems). The bottom line is the recycling programs within the metropolitan region are not yet economically sustainable, even though the recycled materials can be sold to help make up for costs; it is still less expensive for the comunas to send recyclables to a landfill.

Part of the reason that the programs are so costly is that they are inefficient, and part of the reason that they are inefficient is that even people in the service area do not participate in the recycling program. Increased education and 100% participation would greatly increase the efficiency of the programs, but with sporadic participation a lot of manpower is used for collection and administration with relatively little results. Additionally, the programs sell the recycled materials to a buyer like Recupak, which makes all recycling programs that I am aware of dependent on the prices of materials, which vary and fluctuate. Waste is diverted from traditional modes of disposal which lowers that cost, but the combined earning and savings does not offset the costs of administering the public recycling programs. 

    

All thirty-four comunas are NOT in a position where they can spend resources on recycling, which would not have high public participation anyways, especially in its initiation.  Although the central government encourages recycling, it is difficult for municipalities to implement programs as it must come from within their budget. More creative initiatives… osea…programs developed keeping in mind characteristics and culture of Latin American and Santiago in particular, I believe have far greater potential than programs modeled on the US or Europe. Once a model proves promising and sustainable enough to at least become competitive with the costs of conventional waste disposal in the poorest of municipalities, it will eventually be possible to recycle in Santiago.