Holcim to manage industrial solid waste in EPZ’s

Industrial solid waste management projects are to be implemented at Katunayake and Biyagama Export Processing Zones in collaboration with Holcim Lanka Ltd. Industrial solid waste which is currently open dumped and covered with soil at dump yards of these two Export Processing Zones will be used by Holcim Cement as co-processing material in its cement kilns at Puttalam bringing down the cost of cement production and also helping to maintain clean eco-friendly environment. A senior official of the Ministry of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion told The Sunday Times FT that Holcim Lanka has entered into an initial agreement with the Katunayake Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) to manage their industrial solid waste. The initial agreement is with the KEPZ to manage the industrial solid waste, which is currently open dumped and covered with soil at their dump yard. The proposal has now been extended to the Biyagama Export Processing Zone (BEPZ). The project will start basic operations immediately and develop to full capacity by early next year. Waste quantity handled at each zones is approximately 750 MT/month at KEPZ and 450 MT/ month at the BEPZ.

A spokesperson for Holcim Lanka said that co-processing in cement kilns is a widely accepted technology around the world. The capacity of cement kilns, to irreversibly destroy industrial waste and provide an environmentally sound solution is mainly due to the extreme temperatures and stability of its production process. She noted that Ecolcim, a business unit of Hoclim (Lanka) takes advantage of the natural characteristics of cement kilns to provide sustainable solutions to the industrial waste through co-processing. Holcim currently co-processes more than 20,000 MT of industrial waste. She pointed out that the scope of the waste accepted is limited by the acceptance criteria determined by the company and the relevant regulatory authorities and acceptance criteria filters and authorizes waste of which the content and the characteristics are known to the company. Therefore the waste it accepts is limited to sorted industrial waste and does not include mixed garbage from municipal councils, she said