Abstract

In Chile, 8 million tons of municipal solid waste are generated each year, of which only 1.7% are recovered. The main urban barrier to achieving higher figures is the absence of infrastructure for recovery, being a determining factor in socially vulnerable neighborhoods. The objective of this work is to analyze the territorial conditions for the recovery of waste, under an urban metabolism approach, in four Chilean neighborhoods of high social vulnerability and different geographic systems. The analysis considers indicators of the capacity to close the organic matter cycle, proximity to recycling point and proximity to recycling center; and it is carried out in the neighborhoods of San Carlos-Ferronor in Iquique, Santa Julia in Santiago, Ribera del Cautín in Temuco, and Víctor Domingo Silva in Coyhaique. The closing of the cycle of at least 50% of the organic waste generated in the neighborhood is only possible in the Santa Julia and Víctor Domingo Silva neighborhoods. None of the four neighborhoods allows access for more than 80% of the population to a recycling point less than 250 m away, however, the Ribera de Cautín neighborhood presents a better condition, giving access to 55.4% of its population. In the case of access within 600 m to a recycling center, it is only available in the Santa Julia neighborhood. It is precisely this neighborhood that presents, in global terms, the best urban conditioning factors for valorization, which is determined by its functional relationship with the Grand Santiago metropolitan area.