To generate US$400 million annually from industrial waste that is currently discarded? That is the estimate that Sofofa, based on a study carried out with the Universidad de Concepción, makes on the potential of 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% is returned to the production chain. The study identified 15 types of industrial waste that can be quickly reincorporated into the production chain, replacing raw materials.

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

The strategy seeks to ensure that these materials, which include steel slag, copper slag, fly ash, sludge from sewage 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. They can be used to replace more than 7.8 million tons of raw materials annually, generating some US$400 million a year.