Chile's recycling champions
La Pintana recycles more waste than any other town in Chile.
They focus on the largest part of household waste:
food and vegetables... and green waste from public areas.
They also collect used cooking oil… and turn it into biofuel.
Organic waste is collected three times a week for composting.
La Pintana has 200,000 residents.
The city says over 90% of them live in poverty.
La Pintana is plagued by crime.
But people work together to protect the environment.
What makes an impoverished community a green champion?
A climate activist from Europe's greenest town is here to find out.
I've come to Chile from the north of Finland. I'm the leader of environmental work
in the town of Ii where we've managed to cut carbon emissions by 80%.
Let's see what Finland can learn from Chile.
When I hear the music I come downstairs, take my vegetable waste and hang it up.
Recycling projects cost the town 9.3 million dollars a year.
People who separate their vegetables receive free compost.
Participating in recycling has started to transform La Pintana.
We started talking about how our neighbours separated the peels and leftover food.
I started telling my mum to do the same when we were cooking and I kept insisting.
Slowly we developed a habit and it became natural. She then included my father…
and the rest of the family into recycling vegetables.
The truck takes organic waste to La Pintana's recycling centre...
which processes over 20 tons of vegetable waste a day.
Worms help to transform vegetable waste into compost…
which is used in the nursery.
This is the nursery where they're growing over 6,000 native species.
And these plants will then be placed in public squares for everybody to enjoy.
New green spaces have improved the quality of life in La Pintana.
There's a woman behind the changes.
In politics, women are different from men.
We have more feelings. We always think like mothers.
In politics, you have to have empathy.
We see that every day the people of La Pintana fight to get ahead.
This is why we're doing this. I believe people are tools for change.
Recycling projects have made a vulnerable community stronger.
In La Pintana they recycle even cigarette butts.
These volunteers are being briefed in the recycling centre…
before heading out to collect discarded cigarette ends…
in the streets of La Pintana.
They use a home-made tool to scoop them up.
It's a simple piece of wood connected to a cut piece of bottle which makes it a giant
spoon…
A little spoon, yes, to collect the cigarette ends.
In one hour, 40 people clean up an area of two football fields.
Back in the recycling centre a count takes place.
Could you estimate what's the amount of cigarette ends that we've gathered today?
8,000 or 9,000 approximately.
These cigarette ends are turned into mulch to improve the soil.
These cigarette ends are in most part paper: cellulose.
We can use the paper to make mulch.
The mulch can be used to help plants grow bigger and better using less water.
Each volunteer gets a reward: a plant from the nursery.
In Chile, in La Pintana, they don't really have resources to do anything for climate
change mitigation - but they do so much because peope are so strongly committed.
My conclusion is that if you want it, that is the greatest resource.
And also you need strong leadership.
Claudia Pizarro, she went there and made the change.
Individuals are so important.
An individual can make a huge difference.
I just hope that we could spread that enthusiasm and hope all over the world.