THE barangay council of Poblacion in Iligan City has signed an agreement with Holcim Philippines Inc. and its waste management unit, Geocycle, for sustainable waste management program at the Holcim Plant in Lugait, Misamis Oriental on September 19.
Under the partnership, the cement maker will be helping the local government unit (LGU) of Barangay Poblacion manage its wastes in a sustainable and environmentally sound manner by using qualified materials to produce low-carbon fuels, which will be used in cement manufacturing.
The LGU will send its sorted solid wastes to Holcim's plant in Lugait for pre- and co-processing non-hazardous and low-moisture residual wastes such as plastics, laminates, textiles, and rubber.
Poblacion barangay chairman Anthony Pacaña said the partnership will help lessen the waste dumping at the Central Material Recovery and Facility in Barangay Bonbonon, which is having a problem in managing the wastes from more than 30 villages in Iligan City at present.
"We are planning at the end of 2020, ma-reduce gyud ang amoang garbage nga among ihatod sa Bonbonon landfill by 50 or 60 percent," Pacaña said.
Barangay Poblacion collects around 20 to 25 tons of garbage, which are composed of plastics, biodegradable materials, broken glasses, electronic materials and hazardous wastes from household and establishments.
"This is one of the solutions nga akong nakita, partnership with Geocycle. Nakita nako nga it would fit sa amoang goal sa Barangay Poblacion," Pacaña said.
Barangay Poblacion is the second community, after the municipality of Lugait, that was provided with waste management assistance by Holcim Philippines in Northern Mindanao.
In 2018, the Lugait plant has pre- and co-processed closed to 1,500 tons of sorted municipal solid wastes.
"We believe that co-processing is an effective and sustainable tool in addressing the waste management challenges of the country," said Frederic Vallat, the Holcim Philippines vice president for Geocycle.
"Holcim Philippines is committed to further developing partnerships with local governments and raising awareness about the advantages of co-processing to further raise our contribution to lessening wastes that go to landfills," he added.
Co-processing is a government-approved and globally-recognized waste management technology that re-purposes non-recyclable qualified discarded materials from various industries into alternative low-carbon fuels and raw materials used in cement kiln.
Among the environmental advantages of co-processing are the extremely high temperatures kiln and longer treatment time materials that prevent formation of harmful gases.
Geocycle has been providing waste management assistance through Holcim's plant in Norzagara, Bulacan to several municipalities and cities in Central Luzon and Metro Manila.
As Holcim is opening its plant's door to any local government units for partnerships, Vallat said they can organize training to sorters or employees of Barangay Poblacion's waste materials recovery facility on proper waste segregation.