Chile expands e‑waste recycling as firms join TRAEE and Entel launches collection route

The Chamber of Commerce of Santiago (CCS) has expanded the Transformación de Residuos de Aparatos Eléctricos y Electrónicos (TRAEE) initiative, adding twelve companies—including Cencosud, Duracell, Falabella, Tottus, Aerolite, Canon, Electrolux Group, Samsung, Sodimac, SONDA/TecnoGlobal, Stanley Black & Decker and Walmart Chile. TRAEE aims to create Chile's first large‑scale collective management system for electronic and battery waste, in line with the Extended Producer Responsibility (REP) law that requires producers to manage waste from 2028 onward.

Separately, telecommunications firm Entel, together with Midas Chile, is operating a circular collection route in the Metropolitan Region for unused mobile phones, tablets and chargers. In its sixth consecutive year, the program invites residents to drop off devices at designated municipal sites, targeting the recycling or reuse of at least 20% of the phones it sells by 2030. The initiative highlights Chile's low e‑waste recycling rate of 3.4% and includes a schedule of stops across Santiago communes. "The invitation is to come to each point and learn about recycling and reuse," said Stefanie Pope, Entel's manager of Environment and Sustainability.