In the context of International Climate Change Day, our senior associate in the Public Law and Regulated Markets Group, Gonzalo Bravo, spoke with Diario Financiero about the impact of the REP Law on waste management in Chile.
Following the entry into force in 2023 of Law 20.920, known as REP, which seeks to make producers responsible for organizing and financing the management of waste derived from the commercialization of their products, it is now possible to assess its initial impact on the country.
For Maximiliano Frey, project manager of Fundación Chile’s Chilean Plastics Pact, companies have begun to change their view of what they put on the market and its end of life, rethinking their designs and processes to facilitate the recovery of their products. This has meant higher costs, as they have invested in new machinery and personnel to manage the transition. but at the same time, it has triggered collaborative innovations in the industry, as they have begun to take a more cross-cutting view of the value chain.
“From an environmental perspective, it is clear that the REP Law promotes the concept of a circular economy, and although the impact on recovery is still low, we do believe that significant progress has been made at the national level. The most relevant aspect is public access, where today a significant portion of the population has the opportunity to contribute to recycling from their homes, which will continue to expand in the future,” Frey emphasizes.
Regarding progress in compliance with the regulations, Gonzalo Bravo, senior associate of the Public Law and Regulated Markets Group at Albagli Zaliasnik, asserts that the law has positioned itself as a “workhorse” for establishing a circular economy model in Chile. “From that perspective, I think compliance with the regulations is good, as companies are incorporating this discussion and transforming themselves with a view to sustainability,” he says. However, he acknowledges that from a regulatory compliance standpoint, there is still a long way to go.
However, Environment Minister Maisa Rojas points out that through the management systems created under this regulation, more than 1,500 producers are already organizing and financing the management of the waste they generate, promoting a structural transformation in the way the country produces and consumes. “With the entry into force of the regulation and the promotion of initiatives such as the Plastics Pact and various Clean Production Agreements, many companies in Chile have embarked on processes to redesign their packaging, which in many cases allows them to pay lower fees to the REP management systems,” the minister points out.
