At a Glance
Location: Chile
Impact Areas: Labor Inclusion, Environment, Sustainable Income
People Supported:
Low-income Migrants, Women
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2021
Overview
Bendito Residuo collects trash from Chilean companies and households and transports sorted waste to corresponding valuation facilities, all while offering transparent waste management services and training programs to its clients.
The enterprise was born from a desire to address unsustainable waste management as it contributes significantly to increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions globally. A recent study shows that 40% of the world’s trash is burned in large open piles while the remaining is accumulating in landfills. (National Geography, 2019)
The enterprise supports Chile’s growing awareness of the environmental implications of waste by offering its clients visibility into how their waste is recycled and processed. In addition, Bendito Residuo educates company client employees about sustainable practices. With Bendito Residuo’s help, businesses reduce their carbon footprint and access metrics that they can communicate with their stakeholders.
Bendito Residuo directly employs low-income immigrants who face discrimination and lack of information during the hiring process. Immigration to Chile has more than tripled since 2014, bringing the foreign-born population to a total of 1.5 million. The rapidly expanding labor force has left many migrant workers in extreme poverty. With limited access to education resources and fierce job competition, the migrant population struggles to find sustainable employment to support themselves.
NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship partnered with Bendito Residuo for its commitment towards equipping migrant workers with the skills that they need to build careers in Chile and to rise out of poverty.
Results & Impact
2,000+
people trained in sustainable waste disposal
83%
direct hires from excluded migrant communities
2,437,575
liters of water saved
“Our commitment is to the planet. We want to eliminate waste discarded to landfills, increase the country’s waste revaluation rate, and employ migrants who are excluded from our society.””
NESsT Investment
NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship invested in Bendito Residuo to support the enterprise with expanding its operations by opening new recycling centers in four regions in Chile. The enterprise is uniquely positioned to offer corporations with traceable and personalized waste collection services as part of their sustainability agendas, which are established at the C-suite level.
With the recent introduction of waste management and extended producer laws (EPR) in Chile, NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship will support Bendito Residuo with tapping into new market opportunities created by these regulations. For example, Bendito Residuo’s strong reputation with its clients has positioned it to offer joint services between these companies and their vendors to ensure their compliance with new regulations and to reduce inefficiencies. The company also hopes to initiate its own valuation processes in glass and corks.
Bendito Residuo is a key component of the environmental strategy of its corporate clients. As a result, NESsT will support it with building an impact measurement framework to better track its job creation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction outcomes.
