Reciclaje

Today Recycling is an Important Issue in the City.

Author: Verónica Sepúlveda Torres

Recycling is an important environmental issue, and despite of this if you ask a random person on the streetwhat they think about recycling, most of them will tell you something like “It’s good for the environment” but, really, they do not understand the significance of recycling because people do not takeit seriously enough. In Chile, does not exist a true law for to treatment and recycling of the wastes that helps to preserve our environment.

In our country there is around of 246 landfills, andmost of them are not legal and few of them have an environmental impact assessment, they are open to the skies and do not have sanitarian control. In Santiago, wastes rising until 210 thousands of tonsfor month, so every citizen in this city produce 1,4 kg of wastes daily This is a complex problem that has to be afforded as a long term goal and every citizen has to be aware about of itsresponsibility. Involve aspects of economic, technological, environmental, territorial, social and political. Today there is a citizen attitude completely indifferent as to the quality and quantity of wastegenerated. Not to mention the large number of companies still do not care to minimize any waste associated with packaging of consumer products.

Moreover, the materials recovery activities are mostlyinformal, as in the case of the so-called "pickers" of Santiago that recollecting recycling materials through the streets with their bikes. They are among the few who are responsible for collectingthese materials. They collect household waste in the city and collect recyclable materials that are then sold, and so not only avoid to be buried but also generate economic benefits. In La Reina there isa Waste Recycling Project, which is the oldest in the metropolitan area. It began in 1992 and looks to the people of the Community undertake to separate recyclable materials found in their home...