School recycling program gains momentum in Chile

A recycling education program for schools operated by Chile-based Recupac has grown by 60 percent in 2017, according to a company official.

An online article by El Mostrador says Recupac has offered recycling education and training to schools for several years but has emphasized the program in 2017.

The publication quotes Javiera Gálvez, Recupac’s chief of communications, as saying the program has reached a receptive audience in schools. “Children are the first to adopt measures and change behavior when it comes to caring for the environment; [it] motivates them to know that they are helping to reduce natural disasters, to keep water and light [and] to make their streets, schools and surroundings cleaner.”

The program, known as École, also has a collection aspect to it. Some 50,000 kilograms (110,000 pounds) of paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and metal cans having been collected in Chile through the program in 2016.

Schools receive 240-liter (64-gallon) containers via the École program that are collected by Recupac trucks and taken to one of the company’s plants. They are weighed there, and the school receives a payment based on secondary commodity market prices.

Santiago, Chile-based Recupac has its origins in paper and cardboard recycling but now recycles multiple materials.