SM Prime explores potential partnership with Japanese firm for waste-to-fuel solutions
Leading real estate developer in Southeast Asia, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s GUUN Co. Ltd. to explore a potential partnership to implement waste management solutions by recycling waste paper and plastics as an alternative source of energy called ‘fluff fuel’.
Fluff Fuels are one type of RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) which
are produced from shredded and compressed plastics, papers, and fibers. These
are used as fuels in cement manufacturing, paper mill companies, or power
companies in Japan.
SM Prime Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans T. Sy is
positive that a partnership with GUUN will contribute to the waste reduction
goals of the country. “Today, Japan’s waste management and recycling technology
is among the most advanced in the world,” he said. “There is no better partner
for SM because we do not just talk about being big, we make sure we do it; we
do not talk about being environment friendly but we do take bold steps to save
the environment. I am looking forward to growing with GUUN as among leaders in
solving environmental issues in the Philippines.”
GUUN Co., Ltd., founded in March 2001 and headquartered in
Yokohama City, Japan, piloted the production of fluff fuel from plastic waste
in Inayawan, Cebu in 2014 and recently inaugurated its P200-million,
2,400-square meter waste recycling plant in Tayud, Consolacion, Cebu.
Since then, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment has adopted
GUUN’s waste-to-fuel technology as a model for advanced low-carbon technology
innovation for further deployment in developing countries.
“This will be a milestone partnership for us,” GUNN Chief
Executive Officer Shinji Fujieda said after the signing ceremony. "I
understand very much how important waste management is for SM and for the
Philippines and we look forward to more projects we can do with the properties
of SM Prime.”
SM Prime’s initiatives for waste management include waste
reduction and effective waste collection and segregation. Over the years, it
has implemented programs such as Trash to Cash, Plastic Waste Collection, and
E-Waste Collection that have contributed to reducing the total solid waste
generation across its real estate portfolio.
Through its pioneering Trash to Cash recycling market, SM Prime has collected and recycled 1.4M kg of plastics, paper, metals, and others in 2022. “We have saved 16,766 trees from the 986,222 kg of paper recycled,” SM Prime disclosed in its 2022 Integrated Report to shareholders.
Meanwhile, SM’s Plastic Waste Collection
program, a partnership with the Plastic Credit Exchange that was launched in
February 2021, has accumulated 42,541kg of plastic waste from 14 mall sites.
Also present in all its 83 SM Supermalls is the E-Waste Collection program for
the responsible disposal of WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic
Equipment). This drive has helped process close to 7,000 kilograms of e-waste.
SEE ALSO:WATER SUSTAINABILITY: LEADING THE CHANGE AT SM SUPERMALLS
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