Chile's packaging recovery law isn't new, and its 2026 numbers aren't a proposal — Decreto Supremo N° 12 of 2020 has been climbing on a fixed schedule since 2023. What changes in 2027 isn't the schedule itself — it's a mechanism underneath it. Through 2026, a compliance system can still count tonnes of one packaging material toward another material's target. From 2027, plastic's target has to be met with plastic alone — right as the Ministry works through a dispute over whose plastic tonnes even get counted.

The decree sits under Chile's producer-responsibility law, Ley N° 20.920 (2016). DS 12/2020 is its packaging-specific rule: published in March 2021, with recovery targets taking effect 30 months later, on 16 September 2023. Three years in, this isn't a future promise — compliance systems are already being measured against it.

Two schedules, and 2026 is both of their hardest year yet

The decree doesn't distinguish between resins. Article 5 groups all plastic packaging — HDPE, LDPE, PP, PET, and others — into one "plástico" category, alongside four other material categories (liquid cartons, metal, paper and cardboard, and glass). But that single plastic category runs on two separate schedules, depending on where the packaging was collected:

Non-household plastic packaging — the stream a B2B resin buyer is closer to — has always run at roughly two to three times the household rate. In 2026, a compliance system handling commercial and industrial plastic has to recover 32% of what its producers put on the market; the household number is 11%.

The safety valve that closes in 2027

What makes 2026 the real hinge point isn't the percentage — it's a substitution rule built into the decree's early years (Articles 21 and 23). Through 2026, a household compliance system can cover up to 50% of one material's target with tonnes of a different material, excluding glass; a commercial system can cover up to 100%. (Glass isn't part of the commercial/industrial schedule at all, so that exclusion only matters on the household side.) In practice, this has let a system short on plastic lean on surplus metal or paper recovery to still meet its plastic target.

That ends after 2026. From 2027, every material — plastic included — has to clear its own target on its own, with nothing left to borrow. The 2027 numbers above (14% household, 38% non-household) are a step up from 2026, and for the first time, have to be met with plastic recovery alone, not recycled resin tonnage.

A live dispute over whose tonnes count

Separately, the Ministry is working through a dispute over who even gets to claim commercial-stream plastic recovery. In September 2026, it agreed to review a 2025 circular, after a challenge from ANIR A.G., the national recycling-industry association. That circular had let large household-focused compliance systems (GRANSIC) extend their municipal collection into commercial and HORECA (hotel/restaurant/café) waste streams and count it toward their own targets — the same commercial stream where ANIR's members, independent recyclers, hold their own direct contracts. It wasn't an unconditional expansion: those systems still had to meet their own collection obligations under the decree to qualify.

The Ministry took up the case on a narrow basis — protecting the legal certainty of existing contracts — not ANIR's broader complaint about how the recycling system should work. By the resolution's own wording, this step decides nothing on the merits yet: it opened a 23-business-day window for interested parties to weigh in, and no final ruling has been published as of this post. The dispute itself isn't about cross-material substitution — it's about whose commercial-stream plastic counts — but it lands right as that substitution allowance is about to disappear, which makes it directly relevant to a recycled-resin supplier's non-household feedstock.

What this means for a supplier of recycled polyolefin resin

From 2027, Chilean compliance systems have to hit their plastic targets with plastic — not with credits borrowed from another material. That's not a new legal requirement for resin suppliers; Chile's decree regulates compliance systems and producers, not resin purchasing. But it's likely to raise the value of good plastic-specific recovery records, clear feedstock traceability, and reliable recycling partnerships. For a marketplace like Regenport, supplying GRS-certified recycled resin to buyers across the Americas and beyond, that could mean buyers asking more often for:

• Recovered tonnage documented by material — plastic volumes that stand on their own, not folded into a mixed-material submission

• A clear household-versus-commercial sourcing trail, since the two streams are measured and should be documented separately

• Chain-of-custody certification such as GRS or RCS — not a legal requirement, and buying certified resin doesn't itself satisfy a compliance obligation, but it can support traceability and buyer due diligence

• Reliable supply through 2027 and beyond — the non-household target keeps climbing every year through at least 2031

Regenport lists GRS-certified recycled HDPE grades with recycled-content documentation buyers can review before requesting a sample.

Frequently Asked Questions

What recycled-plastic recovery rate does Chile currently require, and is the law already in force? Yes — Decreto Supremo N° 12/2020's recovery targets have been in force since September 2023. For 2026, compliance systems must recover 11% of household plastic packaging and 32% of commercial/industrial plastic packaging.

Does Chile's target apply to a specific resin, like PET or HDPE? No. The decree defines a single "plástico" category covering all plastic packaging resins together — there is no HDPE-, LDPE-, or PP-specific target.

What changes in 2027? Through 2026, compliance systems can substitute recovered tonnes of other packaging materials to help meet a material's target (up to 50% for household systems, up to 100% for commercial systems). That allowance ends after 2026 — from 2027, plastic's target has to be met with plastic recovery alone, not recycled resin tonnage.

What is the September 2026 Ministry resolution about? The Ministry agreed to review a 2025 circular that let household-focused compliance systems also claim commercial-stream plastic collection, after a challenge from industry association ANIR A.G. It took the case up on narrow grounds — protecting existing contracts — not ANIR's wider policy complaint, and it hasn't ruled on the merits yet. No final decision had been published as of this post.

About this guide

Current as of October 2026, for general information only — not legal advice. Specific compliance determinations should be verified against Decreto Supremo N° 12 of 2020 (Ministry of the Environment, Chile) and current guidance from Chile's Ministerio del Medio Ambiente.

Image generated with ChatGPT

Sources

Ministerio del Medio Ambiente (Chile), Decreto Supremo N° 12 de 2020, full text (Diario Oficial, 16 March 2021) — Article 5 material categories; Articles 21/23 substitution allowances, in force for their first four years (2023–2026) → Read the Source

Ministerio del Medio Ambiente (Chile), Diario Oficial, Resolución Exenta N° 4.910 (7 September 2026) — admits ANIR A.G.'s invalidation request on legal-certainty-of-contracts standing (Ley N° 19.880, Art. 21.1) and opens a 23-business-day prior-hearing period; no ruling on the merits → Read the Source

Carey (Chilean law firm, English-language client alert), "Decree that sets goals and obligations to plastic containers and packaging in Chile is published" — English cross-check of the target schedule and entry-into-force date → Read the Source