THE FIRST GENERATION OF SANITARY LANDFILLS IN SANTIAGO DE CHILE: BETWEEN TECHNICAL MODERNIZATION AND URBAN SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS (1970-2021)PRIMERA GENERACIÓN DE RELLENOS SANITARIOS EN SANTIAGO DE CHILE: ENTRE LA MODERNIZACIÓN TÉCNICA Y LOS CONFLICTOS SOCIOAMBIENTALES URBANOS (1970-2021)*

Abstract

© 2022, Dialogo Andino. All Rights Reserved.Chilean historiography has paid little attention to built environment in relation to final disposal of household waste. In this article, we focus on the issue of waste management, from a specific technological device, the sanitary landfill, with the aim of analyzing, from a historical perspective, the implementation of the landfill model in Chile. The purpose is to understand, in the case of Santiago, in the period 1970-2020, the inter-scalar dynamics that articulated the transition from unregulated landfills to the installation, operation and closure of the first sanitary landfills, through the adoption of a model imported from the United States, its insertion at the national level, and its impacts at the local level based on three case studies (Cerros de Renca, Lepanto and Lo Errázuriz). We argue that the partial adoption of the sanitary landfill model, in terms of its location with respect to the city, has implied the creation of long-term environmental problems and has resulted in environmental injustices, which have given rise to socio-environmental conflicts that are still active decades after its closure.