Published on January 09, 2017.-

Household waste

In Latin America, each inhabitant produces an average of 0.63 kg. of solid household waste per day and, considering street cleaning waste, the figure reaches 0.93 kg.

In other words, a person who lives 75 years produces, throughout his life, an approximate of 17.2 tons of waste. In the case of our country, approximately 17 million tons are produced per year, of which we recycle only 10%.

Electronic waste or E-Waste

Although the US and China are the countries that generate the highest volume of E-waste, Latin America is not far behind, among the 40 countries that dispose of electronic devices the most, 6 belong to our region, among which Chile is one of those that produce the most, with an average of 9.9 kg per person, being the country where each inhabitant produces the most waste.

For its part, Brazil produces 1.4 million tons per year, while Mexico, 1 million. However, as it has a large number of inhabitants, its average per person is lower than that of Chile

How to act?

• Consuming products made efficiently and with recyclable materials.
• Separating waste into recyclable, non-recyclable and organic.
• Joining local initiatives that seek to raise awareness on the issue.

It is important to highlight that, although proper waste management is a pending debt for the region, more and more initiatives are being added from the civil, private and government sectors that seek to raise awareness about the relevance of reducing the environmental impact that we generate with our waste. . Now, it is only up to us to help improve our environment.

Source:
Agencia Europea del Medio Ambiente (AEMA)
Asociación Interamericana de Ingeniería Sanitaria y Ambiental (AIDIS)