CIRCULARIDAD INSTRUMENTAL TERRITORIALIZADA EN CONTEXTOS PERIFÉRICOS: UN ESTUDIO DE CASO CUALITATIVO EN GESTIÓN CIRCULAR DE RESIDUOS, REGIÓN DE ATACAMA, CHILE

INSTRUMENTALIZED TERRITORIAL CIRCULARITY IN PERIPHERAL CONTEXTS: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY ON CIRCULAR WASTE MANAGEMENT, ATACAMA REGION, CHILE

Rodolfo Zurita Quintero

Pía Margarita Ramírez López

Katalina Alejandra Tapia Cepeda

Freddy Rodrigo Pasten Reinoso

Departamento de Ingeniería Comercial, Facultad de Ingeniería Universidad de Atacama, Copiapó, Chile

RESUMEN

Este estudio de caso único cualitativo examina cómo se configura la gestión circular de residuos en AMFFAL, empresa regional que opera en Copiapó, Región de Atacama, Chile, uno de los territorios más áridos e intensivos en minería de América Latina. A partir de entrevistas semiestructuradas con informantes clave, revisión documental y análisis audiovisual triangulados mediante codificación temática y herramientas analíticas FODA y Canvas Circular, el estudio identifica tres categorías teóricas emergentes: (1) adaptación circular territorializada, (2) circularidad instrumental versus transformadora, y (3) circularidad sin sistemas de medición. Los resultados revelan un modelo de 'circularidad instrumental territorializada', sustentado en tecnologías especializadas —pirólisis de neumáticos, tratamiento de aguas industriales y chipeado de biomasa— impulsado principalmente por el cumplimiento regulatorio y el posicionamiento competitivo, más que por compromisos sistémicos de sostenibilidad. Los principales facilitadores son la concentración de la industria minera, la Ley de Responsabilidad Extendida del Productor (Ley REP) y la escasez hídrica estructural. Las principales barreras son la burocracia permisológica excesiva, la fragmentación organizacional, la ausencia de sistemas de medición del desempeño circular y una gobernanza colaborativa limitada. Se proponen seis ejes estratégicos para avanzar hacia la circularidad transformadora. Los hallazgos aportan conocimiento empíricamente fundamentado a la literatura de economía circular en contextos periféricos, un ámbito sistemáticamente subrepresentado en las bases de datos WOS/Scopus.

Palabras Claves: Circularidad instrumental, Economía circular territorializada, Gestión de residuos, Gobernanza ambiental, Minería y sostenibilidad

ABSTRACT

This qualitative single-case study examines how circular waste management is configured in AMFFAL, a regional firm operating in Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile—one of the most arid and mining-intensive territories in Latin America. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with key informants, documentary review, and audiovisual analysis triangulated through thematic coding and SWOT and Circular Canvas analytical tools, the study identifies three emergent theoretical categories: (1) territorialized circular adaptation, (2) instrumental versus transformative circularity, and (3) circularity without measurement systems. Results reveal a model of 'instrumentalized territorial circularity' grounded in specialized technologies—tire pyrolysis, industrial water treatment, and biomass chipping—driven primarily by regulatory compliance and competitive positioning rather than systemic sustainability commitments. Key facilitators include mining industry concentration, the Chilean Extended Producer Responsibility Law (Ley REP), and structural water scarcity. Main barriers are excessive permitting bureaucracy, organizational fragmentation, absence of circular performance measurement, and limited collaborative governance. Six strategic axes are proposed to advance toward transformative circularity. Findings contribute empirically grounded knowledge to circular economy literature in peripheral contexts, a domain systematically underrepresented in WOS/Scopus databases.

Keywords: Instrumental circularity, Territorialized circular economy, Waste management, Environmental governance, Mining and Sustainability.

Recibido: 07-03-2026

Aprobado: 26-04-2026

TEXTO COMPLETO:

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