The world’s garbage piles up in Chile’s Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert in Chile is one of the driest places on Earth. Today, it’s confined to the world’s dumping yards
Mountains of discarded clothing, shoes, and old tires are dumped in the desert.
Chile has been a center for old and unsold clothing from Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Most of this clothing is either sold all over Latin America or dumped in the desert in the trash.
Last year about 46,000 tons of used clothing arrived in northern Chile.
Clothes are full of chemicals and they take about 200 years to biodegrade. Sometimes these clothes also get burnt.
There is also a flood of used cars in the country from the free trade zone. While many are exported, some end up in the desert.
Piles of discarded tires are also scattered in the desert.
The local people feel that their country has become the landfill of the world.