Company transforms 62 thousand kilos of waste into alternative fuel

In just over a year, the partnership between Geocycle , a company in the LafargeHolcim group, and the Pedro Leopoldo Waste Pickers Association (Ascapel), in Minas Gerais, has already prevented 62 thousand kilos of waste from ending up in landfills: the material collected in selective collections and which cannot be recycled was transformed into alternative fuel for use in LafargeHolcim cement kilns .

From there, the Association selects what cannot be recycled, Geocycle collects the material and processes it in shredders, transforming the waste into fuel for the furnaces. The process follows high standards of analysis, controls and waste management. "We were receiving a lot of non-recyclable materials through our collections, such as biscuit packets, Styrofoam, packaging labels and non-recyclable paper, which would otherwise end up in the landfill," explains Marilene , president of Ascapel. "By collecting the non-recyclable materials, we are recycling, there is a reduction in the volume/weight of waste that is sent to the landfill, which represents a saving of financial resources for the municipality that pays, by weight, for the final disposal in the landfill", adds Mauro Lobato , municipal secretary of Environment Environment of Pedro Leopoldo. By replacing fossil fuels (coal and petroleum coke, for example) with alternative materials, co-processing preserves non-renewable natural resources, reduces CO2 emissions and prevents industrial and residential waste from being sent to landfills and dumps.