SANTIAGO, Chile, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Chile has launched an effort to reduce textile waste that has led creating some 4,000 illegal dumps across the country, several of them in the Atacama Desert.
Through its Circular Economy Strategy for Textiles 2040, the Environment Ministry outlined 49 concrete actions to eliminate clothing dumps, cut textile overconsumption by 30%, increase waste recovery by 50% and promote circular economy ventures.
At the launch of the initiative, Environment Undersecretary Maximiliano Proaño said the strategy invites Chileans to move beyond the "use and discard" mindset and adopt a model that keeps materials in circulation for as long as possible, reducing environmental impacts and creating new opportunities for people.
According to the Environment Ministry, Chile is the world's fourth-largest importer of used textiles and the largest in Latin America. In 2022, the country imported 131,000 tons of secondhand textiles, of which about 70% -- roughly 92,000 tons -- ended up in sanitary landfills, small dumps or illegal dumpsites.
Several of the largest clothing dumps are in northern Chile's Tarapacá Region, mainly near the port city of Iquique, which operates a duty-free zone that offers tax incentives for these imports.
