.jpg)
(Photo: Unsplash)
The Philippine province of Cebu has agreed to provide its plastic wastes for APO Cement Plant as this will be a promising economic enterprise to the local government.
This development came after Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, the president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Cebu Chapter (LMP-Cebu), and Cemex Holdings Philippines reached an agreement on January 22.
Garcia told Shimura that she wishes for all local government units (LGUs) of the province to avail of the project, considering it a trail-blazing initiative that effectively addresses waste disposal problems in every LGU while also generating income.
Cemex shall pay the LGUs, through Capitol, for every metric ton of waste that they will deliver. The cement factory, located in the City of Naga, is primarily powered by coal.
However, 13% of its fuel demands have already been supplied by Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), which is sourced from non-hazardous residential, industrial, commercial, construction, and demolition waste collected from at least six LGUs in Cebu, according to Christer Gaudiano, the corporate communications and public affairs director of Cemex.
"Instead of disposing waste in a landfill, or goes to our waterways, we are able to use it as a fuel for our cement operations," he emphasized.
In a study conducted by Waste Management Inc. (WMI), it was found that Cebu Province can produce an average of 2,000 metric tons of solid waste daily, which could be used for Apo Cement's RDF requirements.
WMI CEO Gener Dungo said that his firm will transport the plastic wastes from LGUs all over the province and to deliver them via Landing Craft Tanks (LCT) or LCT vessels to the port of Apo Cement.
Gaudiano said with the partnership, they aim to increase Apo Cement's RDF substitution by double digits, from the current 13% to as high as 90% RDF substitution by 2030. The cement plant now is processing 150 metric tons of plastic waste daily for RDF.
