CEMEX Innovates with Mobile System to Sort Solid Waste for Use as Alternative Fuels in Mexico

CEMEX in Mexico has introduced an innovative solid waste sorting system in the form of a mobile plant that will support its efforts to increase the use of alternative fuels. This system will help lengthen the usable life of landfills, increase the recovery rate of recyclables, improve the working conditions for landfill workers, and produce better alternative fuels. The system is expected to help avoid the emission of 130,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere annually.

The mobile plant receives crushes, separates, classifies, and compacts solid waste, producing bales that are used as an alternative fuel in cement plants. The system will be replicated throughout the country, beginning with central Mexico, in order to provide a new solution for landfills located near CEMEX operations. The production goal for December 2013 is approximately 10,000 tons of alternative fuels.

Alternative fuels are a pillar of CEMEX’s carbon and energy strategy, which allows it to reduce its environmental footprint and maximize the contribution of its plants to society. Alternative Fuels generate many environmental benefits, among them reducing the use of conventional non-renewable fossil fuels; a neat, final, and environmentally friendly solution to dispose of waste, avoiding the use of landfills; and a reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.