ACC and Ambuja Cements’ Waste Management Arm Geocycle Wins CII 3R Award

MUMBAI:
Geocycle, the in-house waste management arm of Ambuja Cements Limited and ACC Limited, has been conferred with the prestigious CII 3R Award under the category of ‘Excellence in Managing Municipal Solid Waste’. It has been undertaking various projects to collect and co-process segregated municipal solid waste and plastic waste across the country.

Geocycle was recognized for its various interventions to foster sustainable solutions for waste generated from different industries, municipalities, the agricultural sector and local communities. In 2021, Ambuja Cement and ACC through Geocycle have moved close to 2 million tons of wastes away from landfills by co-processing the wastes in it cement kilns.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), this year, received a total of 101 applications including 77 from industry and start-ups and 24 municipal corporations (MCs). These awards are designed to recognize efforts of companies, start-ups and MCs that are setting benchmarks under these parameters: (a) Managing waste generated by the industry due to their own activities, (b) Creating technologies or products to ensure minimal or zero waste, (c) Managing municipal solid waste, (d) Managing plastic, packaging and e-waste by Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) strategies, and (e) Offering innovation solutions to manage waste.

Neeraj Akhoury, MD & CEO, Ambuja Cements Ltd. said, “We are honoured to be recognized by a prestigious industry body like CII. This recognition will give an impetus to the efforts of Geocycle to work towards providing smarter and sustainable solutions to address the waste challenges of municipalities and communities. Both Ambuja Cement and ACC will continue their endeavours to promote sustainability and build a cleaner and greener planet.”

During the year, Geocycle partnered with Agra Municipal Corporation for its pilot project ‘Bubble Barrier’ to collect waste from Mantola Canal in Agra. Since then, it has successfully halted 500 tonnes of plastic waste leakage from entering Yamuna River. The plastic waste generated is collected and co-processed for use at Ambuja Cement and ACC’s Cement kiln.

Furthermore, Ambuja Cement’s plant in Ambuja Nagar, Gujarat co-processes both solid and liquid waste. In states such as Goa, Chennai, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Vishakhapatnam and several others, Geocycle India assists in managing the municipal waste from legacy dumps.

This award will only strengthen the resolve of the companies to develop clean and green technologies for waste reduction and to contribute to the country’s transition to a more sustainable future.