Released February 9, 2021.

Equipment demand electronics in the world is growing, and each update or major improvements implies the insertion of new equipment to the market, which ultimately causes a significant increase in the generation of waste derived from these products (we are talking about mobile and electronic equipment, among others).

To be more specific, according to the report “Global E-Waste Monitor 2020”, published by the UN, during 2019 the globally produced 53.6 million tons of equipment waste electronic and electrical (WEEE), of which only 17.4% is recyclable. In Chile, official figures show that the generation of WEEE in 2019 was 196,236 tons, and the percentage of waste from electrical equipment and electronic treated was only 3.3%.

Ante esta problemática, desde el Ministerio del Medio Ambiente comentan que, si bien la EPR Law. aún no cuenta con un decreto para los RAEE, “hemos desarrollado un intenso trabajo previo con distintas organizaciones para levantar información relevante destinada al proceso de desarrollo de la normativa”. Entre otros temas, “destacan informes apoyados por la ONU y ONUDI que han revelado datos clave sobre el funcionamiento de este mercado y posibles alternativas para instalar un sistema capaz de hacerse cargo y aprovechar los residuos electrónicos generados en Chile”.

Regarding the operation of the system and the goals that are established, the agency affirms that “they will be developed in the work process that involves the elaboration of the preliminary project, which will be supported by an expanded operating committee cross".

Key facts

6.499 tons of WEEE were collected throughout Chile, in 2019.

80% of WEEE exports from our country corresponds to components of large computer equipment (E2BIZ, 2019).

14 kilos of electronic scrap is estimated to be generated by each inhabitant of Chile by the year 2027.

More information https://n9.cl/wq0fc