In its constant search to reduce environmental impacts and as a way to promote circular economy in Punta Arenas, at the beginning of 2020 BluRiver contacted local suppliers who could use as raw material the unused elements generated by the company.
Thus was born the alliance with Puro Viento, a company formed by Magallanes natives Alejandra and Rossana Venegas, who since 2010 have worked on accessory design, reusing materials that have been discarded.
At the beginning of 2020, the execution of the “Reinvention” project began, which gives a second chance to one of the unused materials generated by the company.
“The initiative arises mainly from a BluRiver need to be able to give use to the waste generated within the different processes, in this case giving new life to the bulk bags, which are used in the work to feed the salmon, and see what use they could give it to generate a new product. It is super important for us, as well as for the various companies that can become aware, take responsibility and be part of the waste generated in their processes. This is a virtuous circle, where large companies contribute with regional SMEs, and we hope that many more companies in the Region will join to develop a cleaner Patagonia”, commented Alejandra Venegas, founder of Puro Viento.
The manufacture of these bags not only sought to give a second chance for the bulk bags, but also for the people who worked in their making.
“As Puro Viento we started 10 years ago as a project that sought the reuse of materials and that is our main motivation, to reuse material that large companies discarded to transform it into accessories. Over time this took more shape, and in the work processes we included people who needed second chances, just like the material, and we began to work with people from the CET of the Penitentiary Center, and heads of household from our commune, always trying to promote the local development of Punta Arenas”, highlighted Puro Viento founder, Rossana Venegas.
After sanitization, the bulk bags were transported to the Punta Arenas Penitentiary Center, where a group of inmates took charge of cleaning and cutting them. After this, the sewing process began, in which Elisabeth Muñoz and Catalina Contreras played a fundamental role.
“It is not a difficult material, but it is delicate. You have to handle it because it frays easily, so you have to sew it and cut it carefully, or everything you had measured is lost”, she explained.
Regarding the experience of working on a collaborative project, this head of household stated: “Any work is enriching for me, for them. We all learn something, because whether good or bad, these are things that help us grow and that is the main thing. The ideal is to put our shoulder to the wheel, we don’t all know that much, but we put in effort, desire and enthusiasm and optimism, which helps things work out”.
A project that was born for the production of merchandising bags, and which BluRiver hopes will materialize again with the reuse of other materials.
“What we are doing is reusing this material to produce bags that can later be used for different purposes. We look for instances like this and they presented us with this project and it seemed like a good idea to us, and in the future we will continue looking for instances like this to develop, because we believe that the path is precisely the circular economy”, concluded BluRiver Salmon manager, Ignacio Covacevich.
