Generate US$400 million annually from industrial waste that is currently discarded? That is Sofofa's estimate, based on a study conducted with the University of Concepción, of the potential for reincorporating this waste into the production chain, adding value to it and generating a circular economy model.

According to the study, Chile currently generates almost 9 million tons of industrial waste per year, of which only 10% returns to the production chain. The study identified 15 types of industrial waste that can be quickly reincorporated into the production chain, replacing raw materials.

At the end of January, Sofofa and the Ministry of the Environment launched a strategy to promote the use of industrial and mining by-products in Chile. According to Richard von Appen, president of Sofofa, the use of these materials will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 94 million tons per year.

The strategy aims to ensure that these materials, which include steel slag, copper slag, fly ash, sludge from wastewater treatment plants, crushed asphalt, and organic waste, among others, can begin to be used systematically in the economy, based on the experience of developed countries. These materials can replace more than 7.8 million tons of raw materials annually, generating approximately US$400 million per year.