Chile · Regulation · Business
Key Facts
—New members. Cencosud, Duracell, Falabella and Tottus are joining the TRAEE collective waste management system.
—Regulatory trigger. Chile’s REP Law is entering a decisive phase for electronics and battery recycling decrees.
—TRAEE’s role. It is the first collective management system in formation for electrical and electronic waste under the REP Law.
—Compliance shift. The move signals a transition from voluntary pilots to structured, binding compliance mechanisms for major retailers.
—Battery focus. Duracell’s inclusion is strategic ahead of a specific Supreme Decree for battery collection and valorisation goals.
Four major consumer-facing companies have joined Chile’s TRAEE collective waste system, positioning themselves ahead of binding TRAEE REP Law decrees that will soon mandate recycling targets for electronics and batteries.
The TRAEE platform and its regulatory moment
TRAEE, which stands for Transformación de Residuos de Aparatos Eléctricos y Electrónicos, is the first collective management system in formation for electrical and electronic waste under Chile’s REP Law (Law 20.920). Incubated by the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CCS), it has until now operated as a voluntary, pre-regulatory platform running pilots with municipalities and recyclers.
That status is changing rapidly. The Ministry of Environment is preparing decrees that will set mandatory collection and valorisation goals for electrical and electronic equipment (AEE) and batteries, triggering a 24-month window for producers to form and gain approval for formal management systems.
In plain terms, a collective management system is a non-profit organisation created by producers to jointly handle the waste their products generate. Rather than each company building its own recycling network, they pool resources to meet the law’s targets together. This approach can lower costs and extend collection coverage, especially in a geographically long country like Chile where logistics are expensive.
The term “valorisation” used in the decree process refers to a set of operations that give waste a second life—recycling, composting or recovering energy—instead of sending it to a landfill. Under the REP Law, producers must prove they are hitting specific valorisation percentages, not simply collecting items.
Why Cencosud, Falabella and Tottus are moving now
For large retailers that sell high volumes of electronics and batteries, joining TRAEE at this stage is a calculated compliance move. Romina Reyes, TRAEE’s manager, has noted a typical operational limbo of six to eight months between new partners joining and formal approval of a management plan by the Ministry.
Early adhesion allows Cencosud, Falabella and Tottus to co-design the collective system they will later depend on for legal compliance. It also helps ensure the system has the scale, geographic reach and financial backing to meet future targets, reducing the risk of non-compliance once decrees take full effect.
For a foreign reader unfamiliar with these names, Cencosud, Falabella and Tottus are among Chile’s largest retail chains. They sell everything from groceries to home appliances and consumer electronics, which means they are significant “producers” under the REP Law’s definition—a term that includes importers who place covered products on the Chilean market. Their participation therefore brings substantial volumes of future electronic waste into the TRAEE system.
The six-to-eight-month operational limbo Reyes describes is worth understanding. It is the period during which a new member has formally committed but the Ministry has not yet approved the updated management plan. During that window, the company cannot yet count its activities toward compliance, so joining early is a way to shorten the uncertainty before binding targets kick in.
Duracell and the coming battery decree
Duracell’s entry is particularly strategic. Batteries are explicitly foreseen as a priority product under the REP Law, and a dedicated Supreme Decree for battery collection and valorisation goals is under preparation.
TRAEE is transitioning to serve a new combined priority product category called “Pilas + RAEE” (P+RAEE). Having a global battery brand inside the system strengthens its capacity to handle this combined stream and embeds Duracell in a multi-sector solution rather than leaving it to manage isolated compliance efforts.
Batteries present a distinct recycling challenge compared to larger electronics. They are small, dispersed across millions of households, and contain materials that require specialised treatment to recover safely. A collective system that already handles electronic waste can add battery collection points to its existing network, which is more efficient than building a separate infrastructure from scratch.
The broader REP Law timeline
Chile’s REP Law creates a binding framework where producers and importers of priority products must organise and finance the management of their post-consumer waste. Implementation has been gradual, with mandatory targets for tyres and packaging beginning in 2023.
Textiles are expected to be declared a new priority product, with goals still to be set by decree. The next wave will cover electrical and electronic equipment and batteries, and stakeholders describe this fifth year of implementation as critical for determining whether the REP system advances or stagnates.
The staggered rollout reflects a deliberate sequencing by Chilean regulators. Tyres and packaging came first because their waste streams are relatively well understood and easier to manage logistically. Electronics and batteries are more complex, involving hazardous components and valuable recoverable materials like copper, gold and lithium. Getting the decrees right for these categories is seen as a test of the law’s broader credibility.
What this means for investors and the market
The adhesion of major retailers to TRAEE signals that Chile’s extended producer responsibility regime is moving from pilot phase to enforceable reality. For investors in Chilean retail and consumer goods, this means compliance costs will become a visible line item, but early movers may gain operational advantages and reputational capital.
Competition authorities, including the FNE and TDLC, oversee collective systems under the REP Law to ensure they operate autonomously and do not hinder competition. That oversight is particularly relevant when major retailers coordinate through a single system, and governance and transparency will be closely watched as TRAEE scales up.
The FNE is Chile’s National Economic Prosecutor’s Office, and the TDLC is the Competition Tribunal. Their role is to prevent collective management systems from becoming vehicles for collusion or market abuse. For instance, they would examine whether TRAEE’s governance gives any member undue influence over recycling fees or collection logistics that could disadvantage rivals outside the system.
What to watch next is whether other large importers of electronics follow these four companies into TRAEE, or whether alternative collective systems emerge. A second open question is the exact collection and valorisation percentages the decrees will set, and whether the 24-month compliance window proves sufficient for the infrastructure to be built. Finally, observers will be watching whether the combined “Pilas + RAEE” category works smoothly in practice, or whether batteries require separate treatment rules down the line.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the REP Law in Chile?
The REP Law (Law 20.920) is Chile’s extended producer responsibility framework. It requires producers and importers of priority products—including electronics, batteries, packaging and tyres—to organise and finance the collection and recycling of their post-consumer waste, with binding targets set by decree.
Why are retailers joining TRAEE now?
The Ministry of Environment is preparing decrees that will set mandatory recycling targets for electronics and batteries. Joining TRAEE before those decrees take effect allows companies to co-design the collective system, secure geographic coverage and avoid the six-to-eight-month operational limbo that follows formal adhesion.
What does Duracell’s participation mean for battery recycling in Chile?
Duracell’s entry strengthens TRAEE’s capacity for the new combined “Pilas + RAEE” category. A dedicated Supreme Decree for battery collection and valorisation goals is under preparation, and having a global battery brand inside the system aligns it with upcoming binding obligations.
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