Lafarge subsidiary starts waste operation in Uganda

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May 5— Geocycle has launched in Uganda with the aim of improving waste management that leaves […]

The situation wlll not change

Petterssen, Waiswa and Floretin de Loppinot, the Total Uganda Managing Director share a light moment during the Geocycle launch in Kampala.

May 5— Geocycle has launched in Uganda with the aim of improving waste management that leaves no residue and it has already signed up Hima Cement. Both companies are LafargeHolcim Group subsidiaries with Geocycle now present in over 50 countries around the world.

“Our promise is to offer a superior solution to disposing of waste in landfills. Geocycle will collect, segregate and incinerate waste in cement kilns of Hima Cement Limited, in a partnership that is set to deliver a ‘zero-waste’ future for Uganda,’ Israel Tinkasimiire, the Geocycle Country Manager said.

Speaking at the launch, Daniel Pettersson, the Hima Cement Country CEO said: “For almost 10 years now, Hima Cement plant has been using biomass to fuel its cement kilns and dryer. These include coffee husks, rice husks, bagasse, palm kernels and sawdust which acts as a replacement for fossil fuels. Today, over half of the thermal energy for the kiln comes from biomass rather than heavy furnace oil which means a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 70,000 tons annually.”

Uganda’s waste challenge has grown in leaps and bound with the ever increasing urbanization, industrialization and rapid change in lifestyles, There are many urban authorities grappling with huge volumes of both organic and inorganic waste that is poorly disposed-off. On average there is about 2,500 tons of waste generated in Uganda on a daily basis with only about 10% of this waste disposed of in a safe manner.

The Geocycle business plan includes collection, transportation, segregation, auditing, as well as disposal in a process that does not require waste to be disposed-off in landfills.

Arnold Waiswa, the Director of Environmental Monitoring and Compliance at the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) said Geocycle will help many municipalities whose waste management processes remain an unfunded priority.

He said, “Many local authorities do not have enough capacity to collect and dispose off waste. Waste is certainly is a big challenge. When uncollected, especially urban centers leads to flooding, contamination of water sources thus leading to diseases. NEMA welcomes the Geocycle initiative which aims to have zero-waste future.”

Tinkasimiire said, “Geocycle will collect waste directly from municipalities, industries, oil and agricultural companies, pre-process it in its waste management platforms and co-process (or reuse) in the cement kilns. Currently, Geocycle collects, segregates and incinerates agricultural waste in the Hima cement kilns.”

Olivier Doyen, the Head of Geocycle in sub-Saharan Africa said currently, Geocycle has 85 waste treatment platforms and provides fuel for 180 cement kilns. “When you dump your waste, you do not know what happens to it after you dispose it off. It can actually turn out to be an environmental hazard. Geocycle means we do not produce any residue at the end of the process and do not release any gases into the atmosphere.”

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Petterssen said half of Hima Cement’s energy needs are sourced from biomass.

Hima Cement is a subsidiary of Bamburi Cement Group which was created in 1998, as part of Lafarge Group. ually and employ over 1000 people directly and indirectly. Today, the Hima Cement factory in Kasese, Western Uganda, has the capacity to produce a million tons of cement annually and employs over 1000 people directly and indirectly.

“We believe in a future without waste; our dedicated experts work persistently toward this goal. We take the extra step to solve waste challenges for our customers and society as a whole. State-of-the-art technology, tailored processes and in-depth expertise enable us to provide sustainable, safe and reliable answers to society’s waste challenges,” Petterssen said.

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