New facilities in Bulacan strengthen Holcim lead in producing cement with alternative fuels
Leading building solutions provider Holcim Philippines, Inc. and waste management unit Geocycle inaugurated on September 30 new storage and processing facilities at its Bulacan plant that further strengthens its position as the industry frontrunner in using alternative fuels and raw materials in cement production.
The company completed a new 5,400-square meter-warehouse to house its shredding equipment that converts qualified post-consumer and municipal solid wastes to alternative fuels. The warehouse also keeps the processed materials dry and suitable for feeding at its cement kiln.
“This initiative is part of our bigger commitment to make our operations more sustainable. These facilities will further reduce our carbon footprint and energy costs while providing our partners a safe and environmentally-sound waste management option though our co-processing technology. We are excited to continue these projects to help us get closer to our long-term ambition of using 70% alternative fuels in cement production instead of coal,” said Holcim Philippines President and CEO Horia Adrian.
The project is part of Holcim Philippines’ P121.5 million investment at its Bulacan plant to reduce carbon footprint and improve circularity of operations or the reuse of materials to lessen consumption of natural resources.
Also in September, Geocycle agreed to provide waste management services to the Municipality of Boac, Marinduque by using its qualified sorted municipal wastes as alternative fuel and raw materials in its Bulacan plant. Boac is the 12th municipality that Holcim Philippines and Geocycle is providing waste management support through co-processing. The company has added eight Luzon municipalities and another from Mindanao as waste management partners this year from three in 2020.
“We are happy to see more local governments partnering with us as they recognize the benefits of co-processing in waste management. With our new facilities, we look to further expand our network of partners and help them in managing their wastes sustainably,” said Albert Leoveras, Vice President of Geocycle.
The use of alternative fuels and raw materials in producing cement is a key focus of Holcim Philippines to lower the carbon footprint and consumption of non-renewable resources in its operations. This is aligned with the goals of the global building materials leader Holcim Group to further make operations sustainable.
Holcim Philippines is a pioneer in using qualified wastes such as non-recyclable plastics and biomass as alternative fuels in cement manufacturing through co-processing technology since 2003. Qualified waste materials are pre-processed for conversion into alternative fuel and raw materials suitable for co-processing in cement kiln. During co-processing, the mineral value inherent in the waste is recycled, while the energy value is recovered. The technology is recognized globally and is approved by the Philippine authorities due to its proven advantages in environmental and safety performance.
In 2020, Holcim Philippines co-processed close to 130,000 tons of qualified wastes from local governments, industry partners and agricultural processors in its plants in Luzon and Mindanao. Geocycle has been ISO certified since 2010 and was recertified last year for ISO 9001 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001 (Environment Management System) and OHSAS 18001 (Safety) by third-party certification body Certification International Philippines.
