Policy, waste, and power: textile dumping in Chile’s Atacama desert

Emma Minerva Brimbella

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Globally, 87% of textile fibers end up incinerated or in landfills, with Chile bearing the brunt of this crisis. Every year, 39,000 tons of discarded clothing are illegally dumped in the Atacama Desert, turning it into a sacrifice zone for the Global North's waste economy. In response, Chile introduced the “National Solid Waste Policy 2018–2030” to regulate textile waste, yet its gaps perpetuate rather than resolve environmental injustice and existing power relations. This research addresses the question, how does the “National Solid Waste Policy 2018–2030“ contribute to the reproduction of existing power relations in the Atacama Desert? Applying Lukes' three‐dimensional power framework, this research argues the policy excludes marginalized communities (first dimension), shields Global North actors from accountability (second dimension), and depoliticizes textile dumping as a technical issue (third dimension). To break this cycle, urgent preventive measures—including Extended Producer Responsibility laws, trade reforms, and the formalization of informal waste workers—must be implemented before 2030. Still, prevention alone is insufficient. This research advances a bold restoration strategy, inspired by ocean cleanup initiatives, to convert textile waste into renewable biofuels.

Keywords: Atacama desert; Chile; policy; textile dumping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J01 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 9 pages
Date: 2026-06-30
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Latin American Policy, 30, June, 2026, 17(2). ISSN: 2041-7365

Downloads: (external link)
https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/138057/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:138057

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library LSE Library Portugal Street London, WC2A 2HD, U.K.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by LSERO Manager ().