SM Prime, GUUN to produce‘fluff’fuel
SM Prime has forged a joint venture (JV) with the Japanese company GUUN Co. Ltd. to push waste management solutions and PRODUCE “FLUFF FUEL.”
SM Prime will hold 70-percent equity in the JV company.
Hans Sy, SM Prime Holdings chairman of the executive committee, said GUUN’s technology will benefit the communities his company serves. Hence, the JV aims to reduce the landfill impact from both SM Prime and non-SM Prime-managed properties, complementing the material recovery facility operations of local government units.
GUUN’s “fluff fuel” is produced from nonrecyclable and hard-torecycle wastes through sorting, curating and formulation to meet chemical limits. It serves as an alternative to solid fossil fuels like coal that fuels cement kilns and industrial boilers in paper manufacturing and power plants.
This approach has proven effective in controlling landfilled waste in Japan, offering a second life for waste as productive fuels and creating opportunities for waste pickers to become formal waste sorters in these facilities.
Sy described the joint mission of the partnership: “… To bridge the gap between society and the environment in the Philippines through investing in their pioneering solid waste management technology, which will eventually benefit all the communities that SM Prime serves.”
GUUN Chief Executive Officer Shinji Fujieda said he believes their venture with SM Prime will succeed in providing solutions for the disposal of waste such as paper and plastics. He said that GUNN is “… ready to make every effort to contribute significantly to the Philippines and evolve the resource circulation system. The partnership with SM Prime leaves us with no doubt that we can succeed.”
GUUN is headquartered in Yokohama City, Japan, and operates material recovery and recycling facilities, along with environmental solution services. Invited by the government of Cebu in 2014, GUUN initiated the production of fossil alternative fuels called “fluff fuel” from nonrecyclable waste materials, aligning with its mission to “maintain harmony between the earth and society by creating a happy environment for the future.”