Displaying items by tag: Holcim Philippines

Philippines: Holcim Philippines says that it has successfully processed its millionth tonne of waste into alternative fuel (AF) for use in its cement production. BusinessWorld News has reported that the cement producer reached this circular economy milestone in partnership with 35 different municipal authorities.

Holcim Philippines CEO Horia-Ciprian Adrian said "Our success in reusing discarded materials is further reducing our consumption of natural resources and carbon footprint. This also enables us to help industries and communities achieve their zero waste objectives."

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has signed a deal to receive 6.5t/yr of shredded waste from Bunawan municipality’s Panacan barangay for co-processing as alternative fuel (AF) in its cement production. SeeNews has reported that Holcim’s waste management subsidiary GeoCycle will process the AF. The partners aim to increase the volume of deliveries in future.

Davao cement plant manager Sam Manlosa said, “We are proud to provide our host barangay Panacan a sustainable waste management solution and thankful for their trust. We hope this partnership will further expand to other communities and the entire city of Davao so we can be a stronger partner in its sustainable progress.”

Panacan is the 28th community throughout the Philippines to enter into a waste management partnership with Holcim Philippines, and its 18th new partner in 2022. In August 2022, the company secured deliveries of waste collected in Bulacan province’s Binangonan, Cainta and Taytay municipalities in Rizal province for co-processing at its Bulacan cement plant.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines says that its waste management partner Geocycle processed 200,000t of biomass and industrial and municipal waste into alternative fuels (AF) and raw materials for use in its cement production in 2021.Global Cement previously reported that Holcim Philippines co-processed 100,000t of AF in 2020. The company is targeting 70% AF substitution in all of its cement production.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines and its waste management subsidiary Geocycle have together inaugurated a waste processing plant and alternative fuels (AF) storage facility at the former’s Bulacan cement plant. The facilities consist of municipal solid waste (MSW) shredding equipment and a 5400m² warehouse. The installation is part of a US$2.41m investment by Holcim Philippines in the Bulacan plant, aimed at reducing its CO₂ footprint and increasing the circularity of its operations. The plant will produce its AF from MSW from the Boac municipality.

President and CEO Horia Adrian said “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 with 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% AF in cement production, instead of coal."

Philippines: Holcim Philippines, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, substituted 100,000t of refuse-derived fuel in its cement plants’ fuel mix in 2020. The Business World newspaper has reported that the figure represents a 41% year-on-year decrease from 170,000t in 2019. That year, the producer recorded 38 days of zero coal use. The company said that the reason for the decline was supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines plans to invest US$2.5m on increasing its alternative fuels use until 2022. The subsidiary of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim says it will spend the money on installing new equipment and improving storage and feeding facilities at its Bulacan cement plant in Barangay, Norzagaray. It also plans to support its Geocycle subsidiary in supplying higher amounts of post-consumer and municipal solid wastes.

“This investment ensures we can continue being a reliable partner in the country’s sustainable development, while also meeting our objectives of making our operations more efficient and respectful of nature,” said Holcim Philippines president and chief executive officer (CEO) John Stull. In 2020 the company co-processed close to 130,000t of qualified wastes from local governments, industry partners and agricultural processors in its plants in Luzon and Mindanao led by its Geocycle unit.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has conducted media tours of its Lugait cement plant in Misamis Oriental to raise awareness of its import of processed engineered fuels (PEF) from Australia. In May 2019 containers from Australia arrived at the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, but were reported as misdeclared by the Bureau of Customs, according to the Sun Star newspaper. However, Frederic Vallat, Holcim Philippines' vice-president for Alternative Fuels and Alternative raw material and head of Geocycle, said that the Tariff Commission had classified the shipment as PEF in early June 2019. The Environmental Management Bureau also notified the Bureau of Customs that it had no objection to imports of PEF.

The PEF shipment was described as, "a plastic based fluffy fuel with high calorific value consisting by weight, 75 – 85% flexible plastics, paper and natural and hydrocarbon based fibre, 7 – 15% hard plastics, 1 – 5% wood and < 1 – 5% non-combustible inert material in the form of solid flakes (range of particle sizes less than 50 mm), mixed colours with natural odour." It added that the PEF has a gross calorific value of 5700 - 7200kcal/kg, 15% ash content, 20% moisture, 1.5% sulphur and 1% chlorine. It is sourced from municipal wastes such as plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass, metals, food materials, broken furniture, and other damaged or discarded articles.

Vallat said that at present, Holcim Philippines has stopped the import of PEF from Australia. They are now in dialogue with the Bureau of Customs over the issue. The company would like to import PEF locally but it was only able to source 7000t in 2018 and its plant needs up to 60,000t/yr.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines says it is importing alternative fuels or processed engineered fuels (PEF) as it cannot source them locally. It said it was ready to ‘cooperate and provide more information and clarity’ on PEFs in response to plans by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to ban imports of waste. It added that a statement by the Environment Management Bureau had confirmed that PEFs conform to the DENR Administrative Order 2010-06: Guidelines on the Use of Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials in Cement Kilns.

The company said it started using PEF in 2018 and that it accounts for 5% of its alternative fuels consumption. It has been importing PEF to ports at Davao and Tagoloan. It conceded that if the DNER enacts its plans to ban waste imports it would follow government regulations.

The cement producer is responding to a trend against waste imports into South-East Asia. In May 2019 the Philippines recalled to ambassador to Canada in a row over mislabelled recyclable imports. Malaysia has also ordered plastic waste to be sent back to its originating countries.

Philippines: The Central Office of the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) has supported the import of alternative fuels by Holcim Philippines. The office sent a letter to John Simon the Port Collector of the Bureau of Customs, stating that it had no objection to the importation and use of processed engineered fuel (PEF) at the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, according to the Philippines News Agency. Simon had sought clarity from the EMB over the consignment. The PEF is intended for use at Holcim Philippines’ cement pants at Davao and Lugait.

Philippines: Geocycle Philippines has co-processed 20,000t of contaminated soil at Holcim Philippines’ Bulacan cement plant in 2018. The soil was taken from former petroleum depots in the Pandacan district that have been opened up for commercial and residential developments. In November 2014 the Philippine Supreme Court ordered the remediation of soil covering an area of 33 hectares, which had been contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons.

Three companies have worked on the remediation project. It is led by US consulting firm AECOM, which performs the analysis of the waste and manages compliance and permits. Charifer Builders, a local partner, is in charge of civil works and site management. Geocycle Philippines transports the waste from the site to the Bulacan plant for final treatment through pre- and co-processing. The teams reviewed a number of soil remediation solutions but Geocycle won the bid for multiple reasons, not only cost.

“Geocycle's solution was considered the best option for this project as the treatment process completely destroys the contaminants, and leaves no residual liabilities at the project site,” said Alfred A Lalu, Technical Director, Environment of AECOM Philippines Consultants.

Geocycle Philippines is expected to co-process nearly 20,000t of contaminated soil in the first quarter of 2019.