Status: 11/26/2021 02:38 a.m.
The Atacama Desert in Chile is best known because the ALMA giant telescope is located there. But now many know the place for another reason. There are huge mountains with discarded clothes.
There are things that don’t belong here: T-shirts and Bermuda shorts in all colors pile up between the barren dunes of the Atacama Desert, including Christmas outfits and snow boots.
Sofia, a Venezuelan migrant, pulls a jacket out of the textile mountain: “I came with my two children and a very large suitcase, but I had to throw everything away on the way through South America. I even lost the blanket. The cold at night eats us up on, especially the children, it’s hard to bear. “
59,000 tons of clothing per year
The clothes Sofia rummages in are rubbish. Chile has long been a hub for used and unsold textiles from around the world. According to research by the AFP news agency, around 59,000 tons of clothing end up in the free trade zone of the port of Iquique every year. Anything that is not resold in the capital Santiago or in neighboring countries in South America ends up in the desert.
Chile’s unique Desierto de Atacama becomes a waste dump for fast fashion. Moyra Rojas, Regional Secretary for the Environment Ministry, said: “There is no doubt that these landfills and textile waste are a big problem for the environment. They often cause fires, which pollute the air. And that applies to local residents too, because the landfills are located in the very center of the city Close to populated areas. “
Two young women looking for useful clothing in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
Image: AFP
As toxic as tires
The textiles are as toxic as plastic or tires. They contain many pollutants, for example from dyeing, bleaching or printing. According to a recent study by Greenpeace, the textile industry uses more than 70 chemicals that are hazardous to health and the environment. The polyester it contains takes up to 200 years to degrade, and even then what are known as microplastic items remain.
Recycling Firms – Isolated Initiatives
This type of hazardous waste is not accepted at all in normal landfills, says Franklin Zepeda. He has founded a company that processes the discarded clothing. “Textile waste is created through the import of used clothing. In the free trade zone, it is sorted according to high-quality and secondary clothing and waste. It all went into the desert in the past, we now use it as a raw material for our thermal insulation panels.”
The founder of the Ecocitex company, Rosario Hevia from Santiago, also recycles the weathered textiles and uses them to make yarn. But there remain isolated initiatives in the fight against a global problem: the overproduction of the textile industry. Global textile production doubled between 2000 and 2014, according to a 2019 UN report. The industry is now responsible for around 20 percent of water consumption worldwide.
There are a few companies that process the discarded clothing, but that’s not enough to solve the problem in Chile.
Image: AFP
“Consume less unnecessary”
“A lot of people criticize us and say: Why do you ask for money for recycling? The answer is: We have to make it clear to people that textile waste creates costs and pollutes the environment. What can be done about it: Consume less unnecessary things and wear things longer. But As we can see: no sooner was a lockdown lifted than people stood in line in front of the branches of Zara, H&M and other stores that are geared towards fast fashion, “says Rosario Hevia.
Environmental protection organizations such as Greenpeace are calling for more pressure on the textile industry: “There should be an obligation to recycle properly. People have to rethink, says entrepreneur Hevia, and question their own consumer behavior.