September 19, 2026
Amidst parades and empanadas, a group of companies embody Chilean pride in waste management, sustainable construction, clean transportation, and water treatment. Their collaborative work addresses one of the country's greatest challenges: climate change.
While Chile celebrates its National Holidays , with the flag waving on every corner, another story unfolds far from the traditional food stalls: that of a group of national companies working month after month to help the country reduce its environmental footprint. According to the 2026 National Survey on Environment and Climate Change , conducted by Ipsos for the PUCV Climate Action Center , Chileans now consider waste management to be the most urgent environmental problem to solve.
The figure explains why. Every day, the country generates more than 22,000 tons of household waste, and 2,130 trucks travel nearly 277,000 kilometers to transport it to a final disposal site. That "somewhere," however, is becoming increasingly scarce. Added to this are textile, agro-industrial, and electronic waste, which generate specific impacts on the soil, water, and atmosphere due to their chemical components and volume.
In that context, Chile ranks third in the world in per capita import of used clothing, with 5.46 kilos per inhabitant per year, and eighth in total volume, with 107 thousand net tons, according to the report "Chile in the global circuit of used clothing: Import and marketing of second-hand textiles" .
Faced with this situation, Franklin Zepeda , an entrepreneur from Iquique, encountered a scene that left a lasting impression on him about 15 years ago: while riding his motorcycle around Alto Hospicio and getting lost, he climbed the highest hill to get his bearings. "It was like another planet, because there was so much fabric, so much trash, and it was all different colors ," he recounted about the textile landscape he found in the desert.
From that discovery , Ecofibra was born , a pioneering textile recycling company that over the years transformed into Procitex , now dedicated to manufacturing thermal insulation panels from discarded clothing. Now, Zepeda is moving forward with Phyro , a brand of optical and sunglasses made entirely from textile fibers rescued from the desert and bonded with resin, making them water and impact resistant.
"You can make more than just wallets, handbags, or other products. We decided to focus on glasses ," he explained to El Desconcierto . One of the hallmarks of the process is the use of artificial intelligence for design: "You no longer need a designer to create the design by hand ," the entrepreneur pointed out.
Agro-industrial waste
Further south, in the Maule region , which concentrates a large part of the country's export-oriented agro-industry, a new plant seeks to solve a problem that grows every season: what to do with the tons of organic waste left by the production of wine, olive oil, apple pulp and tomato sauces.
At the end of June, the company Trongkai installed a pilot plant south of Parral , under the AgroSphere project , with the goal of converting waste products—grape pomace, olive pomace, apple pomace, and tomato waste—into animal feed before they become an environmental liability. In the first phase, which will last between three and five years, the plant will produce meal for feeding pets, cattle, pigs, poultry, and horses.
Electronic waste
A phone or computer may seem harmless while in use, but when they reach the end of their useful life without proper disposal, they release a cocktail of toxic substances that can persistently damage the soil, water, and air. Triciclo Tech works to extend the lifespan of technological equipment before it becomes waste.
"Our purpose can be summed up in one phrase: Keep Tech in Play," says CEO Manuel Alomar , who describes a three-stage process: recovering valuable assets, repairing them according to technical and safety criteria, and reintroducing them into markets where they can continue to be useful, with traceability of their destination.
For her part, Maricel Oñate , commercial director of Electrónica Circular , details the work of dismantling electrical and electronic equipment: "Electronic circuit boards are our main business; these are exported, since the technology for recovering the various raw materials exists abroad ." The company also performs metal smelting with accredited partners and provides traceability certificates to its clients. "We're talking about 70% to 90% of materials being recovered as raw materials for the manufacture of other products, either here in Chile or abroad ," the executive states.
It's time to decarbonize Chile
Wooden construction
Wood construction contributes to decarbonization by acting as a carbon sink and replacing high-emission materials such as concrete and steel. E2E , a company founded in 2018, primarily serves two segments: social housing certified by ITEC and Minvu , and higher-standard private real estate projects. "We can improve people's living conditions through more sustainable, higher-quality construction with better technical performance ," says its general manager, Felipe Montes .
Meanwhile, CTEC and Cenamad are committed to the digitalization of the construction process. Their executive director, Carolina Briones , explains that tools like BIM allow for the advance coordination of design, manufacturing, and assembly, while the CTEC Innovation Park , located in Laguna Carén, functions as a full-scale laboratory where companies test solutions in wood, concrete, and other materials.
Looking ahead to 2050, both Felipe Victorero , an associate researcher at Cenamad , and Briones agree that carbon neutrality will not be achieved simply by changing one material for another, but by comprehensively transforming the way we design, produce, and build.
Advances in transportation
The decarbonization of transport and logistics is no longer a future promise: the first green hydrogen-powered cargo truck designed and assembled entirely in the country was recently unveiled. Gianni López , director of the Mario Molina Center , explained that the vehicle aims to "offer the market a mobility solution for logistics, last-mile delivery, and retail that allows for operations that electric vehicles would otherwise perform where their range or charging times are insufficient . "
Its design combines an electric battery with a hydrogen fuel cell module, which comes into operation when the electric range approaches its limit.
Meanwhile, electromobility is already operating with established figures in urban delivery. Olivier Paccot , general manager of Blue Express , explained that route optimization and deliveries outside the home—through a network of more than 3,200 points—allow for savings of approximately 52,500 kilometers traveled and avoidance of 13,500 liters of fuel consumption per month.
In addition, about 25% of smaller parcels in Santiago are delivered by bicycles, pedestrians and electric motorcycles, which has allowed municipalities such as Providencia , Ñuñoa , Macul , San Miguel and Santiago Centro to operate with a last mile free of emissions.
Facing water scarcity
Chile faces a growing demand to decontaminate its water bodies and reduce water scarcity , challenges that depend heavily on companies specializing in the treatment of wastewater and liquid industrial waste (LIW) . César Opazo , Country Manager of Ecopreneur Chile , explained that the company was founded in 1996, a development that accelerated with the creation of the Superintendency of Sanitary Services in 1990.
"The privatization model and the concession model put a private company in front of the customers ," he noted, adding that this process allowed Chile to reach standards equivalent to European standards and higher than those of some US states.
From local innovation, Remote Waters , a technology company founded in Algarrobo in 2018, develops rapidly installable water purification systems for communities with limited access to water. Born as a family initiative, it now boasts more than 20 implemented projects in three countries.
"Clean and safe water should be a right, not a privilege. Our goal is for technology to reach those who need it most in a practical and environmentally friendly way ," said its founder, Pablo Cassorla .
Amid barbecues, cueca dancing, and flags waving in the wind, these initiatives—from the desert to Patagonia, from textile recycling to wood construction—show another side of the celebration: that of a country that has its own answers to the climate crisis.