Holcim Supports Three Rizal Municipalities in Waste Management

Binangonan Mayor Cesar Ynares (fourth from left) and Geocycle Account Officer Dia Cruz (fifth) during the signing ceremony for the waste management partnership with the municipality on Aug. 31 

Leading cement maker Holcim Philippines, Inc. and its waste management unit Geoycle will help the municipalities of Binangonan, Cainta, and Taytay in Rizal sustainably manage their municipal wastes by converting these materials to low-carbon fuels in making cement.

Holcim Philippines sealed the partnership with the leaders of the municipal governments on different dates in August. The three municipalities will send to Holcim’s Bulacan plant non-hazardous and non-recyclable residual wastes such as plastics, laminates, textiles, and rubber for pre- and co-processing. Holcim will receive up to 650 tons of such materials annually.

The Company will also extend technical assistance and training on waste segregation to the municipalities to ensure a sustainable solution to their waste management woes. The partnership will help the municipalities reduce the wastes sent to landfills and expenses related to this.  

Holcim Philippines supports 28 municipalities and cities throughout the Philippines in waste management with 18 added this year. In 2021, the Company co-processed sorted municipal solid waste equivalent to the annual output of 17,500 households, helping local governments divert these away from landfills.

Holcim Philippines Head of Geocycle Jon Alan Cuyno: “We are thankful to the local governments of Binangonan, Cainta, and Taytay, for their trust in our ability to provide a safe and environmentally-sound waste management solution. We need more innovative and solutions-driven local executives who want to convert their increasing waste management challenges into opportunities for a greener community.  We need them to rethink waste and replace conventional waste management practices with newer, more sustainable ones.”

Co-processing is a government-approved and globally-recognized waste management technology that repurposes non-recyclable qualified discarded materials from various industries into alternative low-carbon fuels and raw materials used in cement kilns. Among the environmental advantages of co-processing are the extremely high temperatures of kiln and longer treatment time materials that prevent formation of harmful gasses. There are also no residues to be landfilled.

Holcim Philippines is increasing its use of low-carbon fuels in cement manufacturing to reduce carbon emissions, cut use of virgin raw materials and contribute to managing wastes in the country in a sustainable manner. 

 

 

********** 

About Holcim Philippines 

Holcim Philippines, Inc. (Philippine Stock Exchange: HLCM) is one of the leading building solution companies in the country. The Company has a deep portfolio of innovative solutions fostered by a full range of products from structuring to finishing applications that can help local builders execute with high performance and efficiency a wide range of projects from massive infrastructure to simple home repairs. 

  

With cement manufacturing facilities in La Union, Bulacan, Batangas, Misamis Oriental and Davao, as well as aggregates and dry mix business and technical support facilities for building solutions, Holcim Philippines is a reliable partner of builders in the country. 

  

Holcim Philippines is also committed to the highest standards of sustainable operations and manufacturing excellence with its plants certified under ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management System), ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System) and OHSAS 45001:2018 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System). 

  

Holcim Philippines is a member of the Holcim Group, the world leader in the building materials industry present in 60 countries with over 70,000 employees. 

  

About Holcim 

Holcim builds progress for people and the planet. As a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, Holcim is enabling greener cities, smarter infrastructure and improving living standards around the world. With sustainability at the core of its strategy Holcim is becoming a net zero company, with its people and communities at the heart of its success. The company is driving circular construction as a world leader in recycling to build more with less. Holcim is the company behind some of the world’s most trusted brands in the building sector including ACC, Aggregate Industries, Ambuja Cement, Disensa, Geocycle, Holcim, Lafarge and Malarkey Roofing Products. Holcim is 70,000 people around the world who are passionate about building progress for people and the planet through four business segments: Cement, Ready-Mix Concrete, Aggregates and Solutions & Products. 

 

Learn more about Holcim on www.holcim.com, and by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

 

About One Earth One Ocean 

Founded in 2011 by Günther Bonin and led by a team of marine biologists and experts, the environmental organization One Earth - One Ocean e.V. (oeoo) deals with the protection of the environment, in particular the water and coastal protection. It focuses on marine litter cleanup and is involved in the field of oil purification, microplastics, research and education. With the international documentation on marine littering, the organization aims to change the behavior of individuals with regard to (plastic) waste. In 2018 oeoo has become an official partner of the UN Environment #CleanSeas campaign, aiming to engage governments, the general public, civil society and the private sector in the fight against marine plastic litter. 

DESIGN CENTER’S SOLUTION TO REDUCE PLASTIC POLLUTION AND AGRICULTURAL WASTE

Providing design solutions to growing packaging challenges and concerns.  

The Philippines, with a population of over 100 million, is producing over 21 million metric tons of containers and packaging waste every year. The National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) reports that the average Filipino generates 0.40 kg, or close to half a kilo of waste per day for both urban and rural areas, way beyond the country’s solid waste management capacity. 

 

Understanding the urgent need for design-driven solutions to reduce, if not end, packaging waste, the Design Center of the Philippines developed an integrated approach to bio-based packaging in a circular economy where waste becomes the material for new products; and future value is created by keeping materials within the economy by continuously reusing it. While the waste management hierarchy sets a clear sequence of actions to deal with waste in the best way, e.g., reuse, recycle, recover, and landfill, a circular economy model focuses on preventing waste and pollution from being created in the first place.  

 

This is the direction Design Center Executive Director Rhea Matute takes in solving plastic pollution and agricultural waste in the Philippines, while providing livelihood to local farming communities - all at the same time.  

 

Matute emphasized that circularity begins with design.  In a study conducted by the European Parliament in 2017 – 2018, they determined that 80% of environmental pollution and 90% of manufacturing costs are the results decisions taken at the product development stage.  She also highlighted the important role of designers in developing products and systems of the future, “Being a responsible designer demands that we do not only design products, but it's also imperative that we design the future of the products, and as we design future of products, we're likewise reimagining, redesigning productions systems as well as the materials we use. This is one of the very important decisions we make as designers is the material we use.” 

 

At the recently concluded PINYAPEL Exhibition at PMG Market 2.0: An Innovation and Sustainability Expo held at the SMX Aura in Taguig City on 03-04 August 2022, the Design Center takes pride in its SMART Materials Development Program by mounting one of the agency’s most important and celebrated innovations, the Pinyapel and its wide range of applications -  from packaging, paper, fashion/apparel to home and objects applications - as a commercially viable business opportunity that repurposes pineapple waste. Pinyapel is a 100% natural treeless paper from discarded pineapple leaves and is used to produce corrugated paper cups, cup sleeves, gift bags, boxes, and paper shopping bags. It is water-resistant and can be in direct contact with food and drinks making it an ideal material for takeaway containers used for coffee, French fries, churros, and chips, among others.  

 

Ideatechs Packaging Corp., one of the Pinyapel’s pioneering partners, developed the initial collection for food and beverage packaging applications and they now carry the Pinyapel logo and tagline in its Pinyapel collection. 

 

Pinyapel may also be used for sustainable footwear. Lakat shoes, made from Philippine tropical fabrics using pineapple fibers, were among the favorites during the expo, “What attracted me to Pinyapel straight away is that every time you show off your pair of shoes, you have a story to tell.  

That’s what makes it so special. You've taken waste. You've turned it out into a marvelous piece, and you are providing livelihoods. You’ve re-engineered it (pinyapel) to a very normal, natural product, which is making a fashion statement by itself and in return, giving livelihood to so many farmers.” PMGs Client Servicing Head for the APAC region, Mohita Gulati explained.   

 

Capitalizing on the Philippines as the world’s 2nd largest producer of pineapple, Pinyapel is locally sourced, locally manufactured, and 100% biodegradable.  It is the Design Center’s response to the agri-waste generated from the production of pineapple fruits while helping maximize the monetary gains of pineapple farmers. Check out the Pinyapel look book here:  https://bit.ly/PinyapelLookBook 

 

The PMG Market 2.0 was hosted by PMG Philippines and was attended by PMG’s local clients such as Nestle Philippines, Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI), Coca-Cola Far East Limited (CCFEL), Sanofi, and Opella, and L’Oreal Philippines. PMG counterparts from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, and Japan also attended the event to assess sustainable products and processes that can be adopted for commercialization in their respective markets.  

 

The Design Center of the Philippines is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) committed to developing a creative research and development program on product design and development.  Learn more about the Design Center and its programs at https://designcenter.ph/. 

Lakat Shoes in Olive Green by Creative Definitions, paper cups, food holder by Ideatechs Packaging (Photos are from the Pinyapel Lookbook) 

Food holder by Ideatechs Packaging (Photos are from the Pinyapel Lookbook) 

Lakat shoes in Black by Creative Definitions (Photos are from the Pinyapel Lookbook) 

In Photos: Origami Packaging (for take-out), paper cups and churos & fries holders by Ideatechs Packaging (Photos are from the Pinyapel Lookbook) 

Lakat shoes in Natural by Creative Definitions (Photos are from the Pinyapel Lookbook) 

  

 The Pinyapel booth by Design Center during PMG Market 2.0: An Innovation and Sustainability Expo. 

Executive Director Rhea Matute talks about Pinyapel, a natural treeless paper from discarded pineapple leaves that produces paper cups, cup sleeves, gift bags, boxes, and paper shopping bags. 

-###-

About the Design Center of the Philippines 

The Design Center of the Philippines is the country’s only national agency for design, committed to cultivating a culture that thrives on creativity, value creation, and innovation. Design Center’s efforts go beyond promoting the value of good design and onto inspiring creative industries to create human-centered products, services, and spaces that make an impact in the Philippines and the world. From enhancing human experiences to enabling inclusive and sustainable economic growth, the Design Center ensures that design plays its role as a creative, strategic, and innovative tool for positive development.

The BEST Case Scenario for Waste

Manila, Philippines – The journey of waste from your home can sometimes be a treacherous one. Ideally, waste from your home is brought to a Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) where they are segregated according to type and diverted accordingly. However, according to Department of Environment and Natural Resources, in the Philippines only 35% of barangays have established and operational MRFs. This scenario can lead to waste being dumped illegally or even ending up in the oceans. Thankfully there is something we can all do to provide the best case scenario for waste. 

Starting April 2022, Mondelēz International and Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies (BEST) are partnering to provide you more ways to properly manage your waste. Here’s how you can join: 

1. Just go to any of the 11 BEST waste drop off sites in Metro Manila from April to June 2022. You can view the list here. 

2. Bring the dry waste from your home like plastic, paper, metal and others. Make sure they are dry, clean, and free from food or other materials. 

3. For any type of waste brought in, you can earn environmental points. These points can be used to redeem select Mondelēz International snack products as well as other items and prizes from BEST. 

This program will run for three months so you have plenty of time to collect waste at home and bring them to the sites. And you can do it regularly too as BEST runs their waste collection activities all year long! For a list of all accepted materials at BEST sites, click here. You can also redeem different prizes for your points, check out this list. 

Mondelēz International is the maker of beloved snack products like Tang, Eden Cheese, Cheez Whiz, Oreo, Toblerone and Cadbury. The Company aims to empower people to snack right, with the right snack, for the right moment, and with snacks made the right way. “We believe in sustainable snacking, where we are able to produce our delicious products while lessening our environmental footprint, including the impact of waste,” shares Atty. Joseph Fabul, Country Manager for Corporate and Government Affairs of Mondelēz International in the Philippines. “We know that any waste, when not properly collected and diverted can end up in nature, particularly the oceans. That’s why we’re working with organizations like BEST to help support and strengthen waste collection efforts in the country.” 

At the end of 2021, Mondelēz International and BEST partnered for a similar initiative where people received boxes of Cadbury Shots chocolate for the wastes they brought to collection sites. This resulted in the collection of 12,893 kilos of plastic waste alone, and the distribution of 10,800 boxes of Cadbury Shots chocolates. 

BEST is engaged in contracting and consulting for waste management related businesses. Its primary mission is to provide avenues for comprehensive waste disposal systems, public cleansing, general hygiene and materials recovery that promote sustainable development through proper solid waste disposal and resource conservation. 

“We thank Mondelēz International for their continued support to our waste collection initiatives,” ends Jan Vincent Mercado, Senior Vice President for Business Development of BEST. “The challenge of collecting waste is a big one, and we encourage everyone to do their part in ensuring we do not harm the environment. At home we encourage everyone to segregate their dry and wet waste. For your dry waste, bring them to our drop off sites and we can help you to properly divert them so they do not end up in landfills or the oceans. You not only help the environment, but you also receive rewards for the enormous good you are doing the earth.” 

###

About Mondelēz International

Mondelēz International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ) empowers people to snack right in over 150 countries around the world. With 2021 net revenues of approximately $28.7 billion, MDLZ is leading the future of snacking with iconic global and local brands such as OREO, belVita and LU biscuits; Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate; Sour Patch Kids candy and Trident gum. Mondelēz International is a proud member of the Standard and Poor’s 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com or follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDLZ.

About Mondelez Philippines 

Mondelez Philippines Inc. has been providing consumers with delicious snack products for the past 59 years - since 1963. Its product portfolio includes Tang powdered beverages, Eden cheese, mayonnaise and sandwich spread, Cheez Whiz spread, Oreo cookies, Tiger energy biscuits, as well as Toblerone and Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates. The company employs about 450 people in the Philippines, with a manufacturing facility in Parañaque City. Visit https://ph.mondelezinternational.com/home.