La Pintana, Chile—one of the poorest municipalities in the Santiago metropolitan area—is an environmental leader. Since 2005, the municipality has reduced the costs of waste management while addressing poverty and improving local infrastructure through its composting initiative. The project has been recognized in Chile and internationally as a success story because it has achieved far greater composting rates than the rest of the country.
Reducing landfill costs
When a national law exempted 90% of households from paying for removal of garbage and shifted costs to the municipality, the government of La Pintana decided to find a way to reduce landfill costs. After collecting data on waste management, officials concluded collecting and composting vegetable waste would be the best way to reduce waste sent to the landfill.
A community-centric program
La Pintana’s Separating Vegetables at Source program (“Separación de Vegetales en su Origen”) launched in December 2005. The municipality distributed 35-liter bins to households for fruit, vegetable, and yard waste. It also ran a communications campaign, including door-to-door visits and workshops on source separation. In exchange for composting, the municipality gives residents free compost. It also uses the compost for a nursery that grows plants for public areas.
Today, the program also collects used kitchen oil and turns it into biodiesel for municipal vehicles and equipment, in addition to engaging volunteers to gather used cigarette butts to turn into mulch. The initiative has brought community members together and improved quality of life in the community, as the municipality invests funds saved into green spaces. Seeing the greenery and benefits of compost has encouraged more residents to participate.
Low investments, high returns
La Pintana’s upfront investment in the initiative was relatively low. Its initial compost system relied on worms to compost a small pile of organic waste. As the waste gathered has increased, the composting facilities have grown to include a treatment plant and vermiculture area. Additionally, the municipality rescheduled existing routes to accommodate gathering of organic waste, keeping its waste collection costs from increasing.
By 2019, the initiative was gathering half of La Pintana’s food waste for composting—far above the Chilean average of 0.8%. At the same time, the municipality saves money on landfilling costs and directs these funds to green spaces and other public infrastructure. The initiative costs the municipality US$9.3 million per year, according to a 2020 BBC report; but in 2022, La Pintana saved over US$100,000 because of the initiative.