Reciclo Orgánicos Chile Becomes First Latin American Program on the UNFCCC’s NMA Platform
- Recycle Organics
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
(Original Story on recycleorganics.org)
Key Takeaways:
This program marks a milestone as the first mitigation initiative ever to be incorporated into the platform—and the first from Latin America.
Its inclusion highlights the program’s impact on supporting the implementation of Chile’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and underscores its potential to scale methane mitigation projects in the waste sector.
By joining the NMA Platform, the program not only demonstrates its innovative impact but also paves the way for emerging projects, highlighting opportunities for technology transfer, closing the climate finance gap, and building capacity across the Global South and beyond.
In 2017, the Government of Canada, through Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), committed CAD $7 million in technical and financial support to help Chile reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) from the waste sector. Over five years (2017–2022), this support accelerated policies, projects, and capacities to advance the country’s NDC implementation.
In November 2025, the Reciclo Orgánicos Chile Program (now Recycle Organics) was added to the Non-Market Approaches (NMA) Platform of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This achievement represents not only recognition of the program itself, but also of international cooperation on climate action in the waste sector.
Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is best known for the carbon market mechanisms outlined in paragraphs 2 and 4. However, paragraph 8 focuses on forms of cooperation that do not involve carbon transactions, but rather technical, financial, and capacity-building support between countries (non-market cooperation).
Article 6.8 aims to:
promote higher ambition in mitigation and adaptation,
strengthen public, private, and civil society sectors participation in NDC implementation,
and improve coordination across climate instruments and relevant institutions.
The spirit of Article 6.8 is to promote climate projects or solutions that respond to national priorities and avoid any negative impacts. For this reason, all registered approaches are voluntary, involve at least two countries, and do not generate transfers of mitigation outcomes.
Under this logic, Canada supported Chile through a non-market approach: direct cooperation with no exchange of carbon units, focused solely on accelerating climate action.
The Platform as a Space to Elevate Climate Cooperation
The NMA Platform, created under Decision 8/CMA.4, brings together initiatives that meet Parties’ criteria for “non-market approaches.” Its purpose is to showcase successful examples, provide transparency, and help other countries replicate or scale similar initiatives.
The platform records information on:
mobilized finance,
technology transfer and development,
capacity-building,
and types of additional support needed to continue or expand efforts.
The Reciclo Orgánicos Chile Program was structured around three pillars:
Technology implementation and project development,
Public policy development, and
Capacity-building and education.
The project also strengthened MRV systems and prioritized community engagement. It involved a wide range of actors—from local and national authorities to civil society organizations and the private sector—creating a network committed to transforming organic waste management in Chile.
Among its results, the project:
Supported the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) in the technical assessment and public consultation processes for developing the National Organic Waste Strategy.
Supported the Ministry of Environment in the technical assessment and public consultation processes for the National Organic Waste Strategy.
Distributed nearly 2,000 composting and vermicomposting kits across eight communities.
Provided technical and financial support to 22 public and private projects in various municipalities, including composting, biodigestion, and landfill biogas capture initiatives.
Supported the development of an MRV framework for emission reductions in the waste sector, including three GHG quantification protocols.
Trained 40 municipalities to advance organic waste recovery initiatives.
Held citizen workshops with 250 participants.
Produced more than 50 educational materials and carried out public workshops.
New Opportunities for Cooperation
The inclusion of the Reciclo Orgánicos Chile Program on the NMA Platform not only describes and documents the impacts achieved, but also sets the stage and identifies additional support needed to advance the implementation of other emerging projects—particularly in technology transfer, financing, and capacity-building.
This is especially relevant considering that the Reciclo Orgánicos model is already being scaled and replicated elsewhere. The current Recycle Organics Program has evolved and grown into a global platform. Today, it boasts a diverse portfolio of over 50 projects across 25 countries—ranging from utility-scale landfill gas-to-energy initiatives to community composting and small-scale biodigesters with farmers. These projects have the potential to mitigate over 31 million tons of CO₂e in the next 20 years and divert more than 700,000 tons of organic waste from landfills annually.
To expand and maximize its impact across its full network of countries, Recycle Organics aims to raise USD $5 million between 2025 and 2026. Of that, USD $500,000 has already been secured to support project implementation in Latin America and the Pacific.
The Program is also financing to implement identified project portfolios and expand existing methane mitigation initiatives, enhancing opportunities already developed across partner countries.
The visibility provided by the NMA Platform reinforces the value of these efforts and the pivotal role of international cooperation in climate action across the Global South. For Chile, Canada, and the countries collaborating with Recycle Organics, this milestone reaffirms that climate cooperation is a critical pathway for accelerating real action where it is needed most.
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