Introduction
During the last months the Chilean public has been preoccupied by a broad discussion about waste management. Some topics of this discussion were the security and closure of landfills, corruption, and also the working conditions in this sector. Municipalities (like El Bosque, Ñuñoa etc.), CONAMA, networks of citizens organizations und NGO’s (like La Chimba) and international institutions (KOLLEG, GTZ) are enforcing and promoting recycling projects in Chile. There is also an intensive interchange of knowledge/experiences among scientists and actors of waste management which is shown by a variety of international conferences held during the last two years - for example: "Programa Gestión Participativa de Residuos Sólidos Domiciliarios" in June 2002, "Pasos Estratégicos para una Gestión Participativa de los Residuos Sólidos en la Región Metropolitana" in November 2002 and "Expo Agua & Residuos" in July 2003.
The objective of this article is to try to introduce international experience into this discussion as well as to propose best practices. The reader might also find or conclude some helpful information for getting involved in the Chilean waste management. The first part of the article describes the development of the German waste management and its special qualities. The second part concerns about the Chilean waste management problems. Finally, we want to give some practical suggestions for Chilean actors.
The development of the German waste management systems:
Until the 1970’s the only kind of eliminating waste was the deposit. All sorts of waste were simply deposed. This type of waste elimination occurred to grave contaminations of the soil and water resources, to ecological- and human-toxicological damages and to a big damage to the national economy as well. At this time people were afraid to be choked by the surmounting waste, because of capacity shortfalls in deposition and the scale of ecological damages became alarming.
At the beginning, there was the idea to improve the security of landfills and to make the combustion cleaner. But nevertheless, people began to realize that landfills not guaranteeing a long-term environmental security and therefore developed the demand for a sustainable waste management. This meant to integrate the “waste” economy in a sustainable way of production and consumption (introducing producer responsibility and the emergence of a health and environment orientated consumer), and the creation of a material-circulation-paradigm of the waste management industry.
The objectives were the following: firstly, preventing the generation of waste. Only if this is impossible one had to recycle the waste. And given the case that even recycling is not feasible, it became mandatory to deposit the waste in an adequate way.
The development of a sustainable waste management with respect to natural resources, has passed two main stages. The first stage was the period from 1972 to 1986. There was an active intersector movement which successfully pressured the German parliament to pass the important law of waste elimination. The law aimed at organizing the illegal but tolerated deposits (at the beginning of the 1970ies approximately 50.000 existed) and to create norms/orders referring to competences and responsibility of deposition. The following graph presents the development of the deposits and the alternatives:
Go to Figure 1 (Source: Statistisches Bundesamt, 27-10-2000)
In 1986 the German parliament passed the law of Avoidance and Elimination of Waste with the goal to minimize the waste production and to recycle waste. The law concerns about the legislative authority which means that the government has the right to pass detailed instructions, orders or directives for waste management and handling. Consequently, the legislative authority was enlarged to lawful stipulations regarding packing, the treatment of used oil and cars, etc.
In 1996 the second stage was initiated with the introduction of the law of Economy of Cycle (Kreislaufwirtschaft). This law defined producer responsibility. The objective is firstly to reprocess complementary resources of production into an inner production cycle or into a cooperation between different companies (clean production). Secondly, it was demanded to design products in a kind that toxicological threats to the environment and people are not occurring and in a way which makes the reuse the materials of disposed products possible. As a result, the separation of production and waste elimination was solved. Now producers have the ultimate responsibility of an adequate waste elimination. They are left to choose between avoidance, minimization and recycling or the costly deposition in landfills.
Regarding recycling, it is important to choose a high reutilization quality and to avoid downcycling.
The economy of cycle system mainly consists of two parts: The first part are standardized definitions at the EU (European Union) level. They classify waste into categories like waste for elimination or recycling, dangerous waste, waste which has to be under control or waste which does not need control. The other part defines responsibilities for producers and distributors. The objective is here to design the products in a way, that the fabrication, the utilization or the consume reduces the waste generation, and to make sure that the recycling and the elimination is compatible with the environmental standards.
The fact that the producer is still responsible for his product after its sale is based in a) the paradigm “who contaminate has to pay”, this responsibility is regulated in the environmental responsibility right; b) the perfect producers knowledge about the product, the contents, the environmental influence and the recycling possibilities. Product responsibility means, before the production will be initiated, one has to determinate the waste elimination, the cycle system, the deconstruction and the maintenance of materials after using.
The success of this law is demonstrated by the stable number of landfills and the growth in consumption at the same time, which is depicted in the following table:
Go to Table 1
The development of the German waste industry into an integrated economy of cycle has created the following effects:
- A web of laws and orders.
- A web of control and authorizing administrative bodies.
- Self commitments by producers (product responsibility).
- Environmentally sensitive citizens (waste separation and partly avoiding).
- Economization of waste treatment (at least cost equalization).
- Considerable saving of natural resources.
- A radical minimization of health and environmental dangers.
- Creation of qualified jobs.
- Creation of waste management sectors in logistics, controlling and monitoring, R&D, etc..
The state alone never had the means to accomplish those results because top-down decisions and orders would have met enormous resistance and refusal. The realization of waste minimizing and recycling management was possible thanks to various actors in the parliament, in the government, in business circles, in science and in consumer organizations. Most of those actors possessed decision power and were generally accepted. They created a round table, where they formulated principles and objectives. Afterwards they communicated these objectives and principles into their institutions, which means into the parliament, ministries/departments, business organizations, etc. Thus, promoting their ideas and asking for suggestions to improve the system they developed the waste management system on a base of a participative acceptation.
The big objective of the Law of Economy of Cycle is to reach a level that will allow to close all landfills for housing waste in 2020, implying the total recycling of housing waste.
Waste management in Chile
The German waste problems emanated from ecological and health politically problems. In the 1970ies, various scientist demonstrated that the middle- and long-term costs will be very high, if the Germans had maintained the old “waste management”, yet incurring a significant damage to the national economy. Also, scientists showed that a sustainable waste management makes high valorization and maximization of profits possible, so they empowered the process.
The Chilean waste problem is not a technological problem. According to a study of OPS/OMS, each citizen in Santiago “produces” 1,633 kg waste every day. The same study indicates a waste recollection of 100% (CONAMA also estimates the waste recollection to nearly 100%). But, if you know about the situation in the so called “Poblaciones”, it is clear that a level of 100% does not correspond to the reality. Nevertheless, the recollection in Santiago is on a higher standard and efficient compared with other Latin American nations.
Although operating in black numbers the low numbered recycling companies, but they work well below their capacities for treating local waste. For example, in 2002 SOREPA S.A. had to import nearly 48.700 tons used paper (source: OPS/OMS) and also the majority of their products are exported. That shows a lack in the Chilean waste management and also indicates a low demand for recycled products in Chile caused obviously by a low environmental sensitivity and awareness of the citizens. The following graph shows this fact in an international comparison:
Go to Figure2 (Source: OPS/OMS 2003)
This indicates clearly that the Chilean waste management system is deficient in terms of accumulation of ecological and health problems and also in resource efficiency. Grave deficiencies are to find in the social area, too, based on two main problems:
- In Chile exists a group (approximate 10.000 persons) which actively conducts waste separation and recycling: the Recolectores Independientes (RI). They drive with tricycle through the streets and recollect the recyclable materials like paper, glass, plastic and metal. Then they sale the materials to recycling companies. According to RI, one person can recollect between 60 and 80 kg paper, nearly 10 kg glass and approximate 1 kg metal a day (Source: Asociación Gremial de Recolectores Independientes). This shows clearly their importance to the Chilean economy, but also to the society. The waste which is recollected by the RI does not reach the landfills. So it minimizes environmental damages like soil and water contamination, which means, it minimizes the toxicological impact on the environment and public health. However, the RI operates in the informal economic sector without having working contracts, health insurance, working rights, etc. They depend on “good will” prices of recycling companies. All trials to negotiate a stable price system failed because of the power by the recycling sector. At the same time, the municipalities try to force the RI out of their municipalities. The RI fulfills an important environmental, social and economic task, but remains not recognized and even getting marginalized and discriminated.
- In poor communes waste management deficits bring negative effects about in a double way. The inhabitants live in a less developed and dirty ambient which causes a significant health risk. Because of the social conditions the most habitants of those communes can not afford to pay waste recollection fees. Therefore the municipal administrations shoulder the economic burden by themselves, which is a heavy one to many of them. In the south-west-belt of Santiago the fees for waste recollection is the highest post of the entire budget. The municipality El Bosque has to pay around 70% of its total income for waste recollection. That paralyzes communes having no leeway for making other important social investments.
Also the waste is a significant economic problem. Because of deficient waste management the Chilean economy is loosing the opportunity for growth and new investment in technological and scientific areas, thus preserving monopolistic structures which prevent market competition. This impinges on the new participation of other national and international companies into the Chilean marked, technology transfer and the creation of new qualified jobs in these economic areas. At least Chile is loosing the opportunity to become a South American example in the field of recycling and to attain a leading market position.
Useful steps to an efficient waste management
It’s important that the different actors get together, engage in capacity building and establishing mutual trust, for developing commonly shared objectives and commitments. In this way all actors know the different interests, problems and facets of the topic, so they are able to recognize common points. To reach such a level, the actors need to have a same knowledge basis. Capacity building programs and information rounds targeting all actors in national and communal administrations, companies, NGOs, etc. are of utmost importance.
They have to stimulate a market for recycled products, meaning also to develop a demand of ecological products. This could be realized in two steps, firstly fostering and enhancing citizen’s environmental awareness, and secondly to reform and simplify the corresponding legislation and administrative competence.
The example of Germany has demonstrated that a participative waste management is a successful model and therefore superior to a top-down model. The success was due to the ambitious work of interest groups approaching and informing the public, gaining their support as a consequence. Therefore the government and the business community recognized the gravity of the problem saw the need to act.
