Although recycling has always been about developing a better way of managing waste produced by humans, for Anita Farfán, founder of DesafíoAmbiente.cl, the idea was always to go further.
“We wanted to break the recycling routine because it’s good for the planet and show that on top of that we could innovate, generate technologies, new materials and create work. And that is today our main objective, to show a new dimension of recycling”, recognizes the engineer specialized in recycling management that since 2013 works on the reuse of waste as raw material.
More than chairs
The development of its line of urban furniture – beach chairs – in the project “Una Tonelada de Plástico” for parque Bicentenario, together with the Municipality of Vitacura, is one of his best known works.
However, it is the tip of the iceberg of what is behind Environment Challenge, which processes about 25 tons of plastic garbage per month.
And it is that in the beginning they started from below, collecting material to be able to reuse, learning from each of those processes; thanks to which today they can cover different actions or services ranging from grinding and destruction of plastic waste, to the development of 3D and Ecodesign prototypes.
This has led them to become environmental leaders, as they face recycling as a three-dimensional experience, with economic, social and environmental impact. “And that’s our main goal today, to show a new dimension of recycling,” he says.
Thanks to this, today they have four production lines, which operate in harmony and different objectives:
Everwood: focuses on the manufacture of plastic wood as a building material and the manufacture of garden products such as furniture and platforms.
Everplastic: development of smaller scale Preciusplastic products, such as pots, tiles -ecolejos-, coasters, carabiners and others.
Everpet: specialized in the development and manufacture of products using PET plastic exclusively, such as a thermal insulating fiber called AISLAPET.
Evercopper, It is a version of our plastic products with the addition of copper particles as an antibacterial additive
Future
Selected among the 100 Women Leaders of 2019 together with her partner, industrial designer Maria José Vargas, Farfán believes that recycling is a contribution to various dimensions of today’s world
“We put recycling as an anchor to talk about various economic issues because it generates circular microeconomics for recyclers, generates income for various industries, employability to people at risk, innovation, promotes environmental cleanliness and nature care,” he says.
That’s why the plan is to keep growing. The idea is to increase its presence throughout the country, with offices in Puerto Montt, Chiloé, Temuco, the Fifth Region and the North Chico, while international ties grow.
“We have already exported some products to Switzerland and are negotiating with Germany and Spain – specifically Barcelona – for the development and marketing of our products,” adds Anita, which also includes a trip to Peru to “prospect our insulating fiber product”.
They also support companies in finding sustainable solutions for their plastic waste by transforming them into value products through innovation, installing circular economy in companies, and transferring ecodesign methodologies to avoid these problems in the future. All this involving each ecosystem, generating virtuous relationships between companies, the environment and the community; how they expect to invoice about 100 million pesos at the end of this year 2021.
