From waste to cement

The three municipalities will be sending to Holcim’s Bulacan plant as much as 650 tons of non-hazardous and non-recyclable residual wastes

As climate change becomes a critical problem for most countries, it is imperative to have an enduring solution for managing waste materials affecting communities around the world.

The Philippines has not been spared from the effects of climate change, prompting leading cement maker Holcim Philippines Inc. to do its share in mitigating its effects. Its efforts towards this end include using its waste management unit Geoycle to help the municipalities of Binangonan, Cainta and Taytay in Rizal manage their municipal waste sustainably by converting these materials to low-carbon fuel in making cement.

In August, Holcim Philippines sealed a partnership with the local government unit officials in those municipalities.

The three municipalities will be sending to Holcim’s Bulacan plant as much as 650 tons of non-hazardous and non-recyclable residual wastes such as plastics, laminates, textiles, and rubber for pre-and co-processing annually.

Tech training offered

The cement company will also extend technical assistance and training on waste segregation to the municipalities to ensure a sustainable solution to their waste management woes.

Currently, in terms of waste management, Holcim Philippines supports 28 municipalities and cities — with 18 more LGUs from various parts of the country added since the start of the year.

In 2021, the cement company co-processed sorted municipal solid waste discarded by a total 17,500 households, helping local governments to divert these waste materials from landfill sites.

“We need more innovative and solutions-driven local executives who want to convert their increasing waste management challenges into opportunities for a greener community. We need them to rethink waste and replace conventional waste management practices with newer, more sustainable ones,” according to Holcim Philippines- Geocycle chief Jon Alan Cuyno.

Co-processing is a government-approved and globally recognized waste management technology that repurposes non-recyclable qualified discarded materials from various industries into alternative low-carbon fuels and raw materials used in cement kilns.

Among the environmental advantages of co-processing are the extremely high kiln temperatures and longer treatment time materials that prevent the formation of harmful gasses. There are also no residues to be landfilled.

Further, Holcim Philippines is increasing its use of low-carbon fuels in cement manufacturing to reduce carbon emissions, cut the use of virgin raw materials and contribute to managing wastes in the country in a sustainable manner.