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Cement manufacturers have come forward to help reduce plastic waste in the country in response to a recent nationwide initiative announced by the government. Currently, the cement industry uses almost 75 million tonnes of waste as a replacement for raw materials and fuels in factories across the country in its cement manufacturing process. This could increase many-fold if a strategic alliance is worked out between municipal corporations and cement units, making plastic waste and municipal solid waste an integral part of cement manufacturing. Though this needs support in terms of logistics, it could help reduce waste from reaching landfills in a big way.
To explore such a possibility and increase the participation of cement manufacturers in the effort, the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) held its fourth conference on “Alternate fuel and raw materials in cement industry – Conserve 2019” in New Delhi. On the occasion, Mahendra Singhi, President of CMA and Managing Director and CEO, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited announced the cement industry’s commitment to contribute to the government’s Swachhata hi Sewa campaign and increase its future intake of waste. He said, “The cement sector has played an important role in the low carbon economy transition and is fully committed for remaining efficient in terms of clean and green. We have the best of technologies to keep the sector most efficient.”
The cement industry says it is committed to reducing its emission intensity by 45 per cent compared to its base level in 2010, which would lead to carbon emission savings of almost 367 MTCO2e (a measurement of metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) by 2050. Being the world’s second-largest cement industry with 10 per cent of global installed capacity of 532 million tonnes, it hopes to make a more significant impact by increasing its use of waste as a resource.
Awarness campaign
Earlier in the week, CMA launched a unique initiative for creating awareness against single-use plastic across schools in the Capital and intends to spread its campaign across the country.
The conference was inaugurated by Parameshwaran Iyer, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, and C K Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
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