LEADING building solutions provider Holcim Philippines continues to grow its positive impact on Mindanao with the expansion of its partnerships that support community zero waste goals and provide additional income to local farmers.
Holcim Philippines sealed its latest partnership on June 11 through waste management unit Geocycle and the local government of Carmen, Davao del Norte. This increased the number of Geocycle’s Mindanao partners to 20.
Carmen is estimated to annually send up to 350 tons of sorted residual wastes to Holcim’s Davao plant for co-processing. This partnership enables Carmen to avoid using landfills and strengthen compliance with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
Nationwide, Holcim Philippines and Geocycle are supporting 65 local government partners in waste management, by accepting properly sorted municipal wastes for processing into alternative fuels and raw materials in cement manufacturing.
Carmen, Davao del Norte Mayor Leonidas Bahague said, “I am very grateful to HOLCIM Philippines for offering a Memorandum of Agreement for the co-processing of residual wastes. This is a significant help to LGU Carmen in addressing our solid waste problems.”
Holcim Philippines chief sustainability officer Samuel Manlosa chimed in: “We are excited to work with the local government of Carmen in its goal to properly manage wastes in line with its sustainable development goals. We believe that keeping communities clean has significant social, environmental, and economic benefits and welcome adding more local government partners throughout Mindanao”
Aside from properly sorted municipal wastes, Holcim Philippines also converts agricultural wastes into alternative fuels and raw materials in its operations led by its plants in Misamis Oriental and Davao. The practice not only helps the company reduce consumption of virgin natural resources and carbon emissions but also generates supplementary income for farmers across Mindanao.
Holcim Philippines is among the pioneers of co-processing, a government-approved and globally-recognized waste management technology that repurposes qualified discarded materials into alternative low-carbon fuels and raw materials in making cement.
The initiative is aligned with the company’s sustainability commitment to produce essential building materials with fewer natural resources and lower carbon emissions by reusing waste from industries and communities.
