An agreement signed between the municipalities of Otavalo, Antonio Ante, Ibarra, Cotacachi and the local private company Unacem seeks to take advantage of the waste.
Of one kilo of garbage generated by an average home in the cantons of Otavalo, Antonio Ante, Ibarra, Cotacachi, in the province of Imbabura, 400 grams are organic waste and the rest are inorganic (plastic, wood, paper, textiles and cardboard). Of the 600 grams of inorganic, 200 can be used (because they do not have any type of moisture) for the generation of fuel.
These residues can be crushed into a kind of confetti that then goes through a thermal process to turn it into an alternative fuel to clinker that can be used for the production of cement in Ecuador. By taking advantage of this waste, which without any treatment would end up in the oceans, and reducing dependence on clinker reduces CO2 emissions.
Starting to produce this confetti is one of the objectives of an agreement signed at the beginning of this month between the four aforementioned imbaburan municipalities and the Unacem cement company. With this agreement, which also has the support of the Imbabura Prefecture, it is intended to give the green light to a management system for the use and industrialization of solid urban waste.
The implementation will take time, since only Otavalo and Antonio Ante have established a classification of waste from the origin for its collection. The other cantons need to generate a culture of classification. What will start now are studies to define the amounts of investments to be made by the municipalities and the cement company. This will take six months.
“In June 2022 we will have this concept engineering where it is indicated what the parts should do. Then the investments are made and we estimate that in two years we will have the connection of the landfills with the plant”, Indicates Diego Moreno, Unacem plant manager.
We continue to bury garbage, a practice of 240,000 years ago
The idea, according to the executive, is that all the cantons replicate the work that the Municipality of Otavalo has done. In that canton, citizens must classify their waste into organic and inorganic and remove it on certain days for collection. In addition, spaces have been provided within the sanitary landfill for the management of hazardous waste, cells and batteries.
The commitment is that by 2024 between 300 and 500 tons of usable waste generated by the four cantons per day can be processed, says Moreno. The location of the Unacem factory (it is on the road that connects the four cities) would give the project economic sustainability: “As it is an inorganic, pulverized, dry and low-density waste, it is very expensive to transport it, so it is not feasible to bring this waste from very far because I print more fuel and CO2 to use it.”.
Once in the plant, this residue will replace part of the cement plant’s traditional fuel. This will also help the company achieve its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.
Mario Conejo, mayor of Otavalo, assures that his city began to classify waste since 2005. Organic waste is used to produce compost that is used to improve the soil.
“Some time ago we also considered taking advantage of inorganic waste. About three years ago Unacem already raised the possibility of bringing a machine and placing it in the landfill, but this project was maturing and a more ambitious initiative has been proposed that would cover the province, but starting with four cantons. Unacem would make the investment in the necessary infrastructure. The municipalities will begin with the training and education so that the waste complies with the appropriate parameters”, he says.
More than ten tons of waste collected by Mingas by the Sea on Ecuadorian beaches during 2019
He adds that working on the use of inorganics will mean an important “saving” for his municipality, since the useful life of the sanitary landfill will be extended and an income will be generated from the sale of the material: “We not only improve waste collection rather, we reduce soil contamination and generate resources for the municipality ”.
For Marcelo Simbaña, governor of Imbabura, this agreement is of “vital importance” to achieve actions aimed at sustainable development goals 7, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 17 that pursue sustainable industrialization. Qualifies the project as a “milestone” in the country. (I)
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