CEMEX has signed a three-year agreement to support waste removal efforts in Egypt’s Nile River. Some of the waste will be used as a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels at CEMEX’s Assiut cement plant. 

CEMEX will be collaborating with VeryNile, an initiative supported by the Ministry of the Environment in Egypt that develops eco-friendly solutions to remove inorganic waste from the Nile River. The company will provide financial support to double the amount of waste collected and contribute to the direct employment of over 100 people in the fishing community of Qursaya. The programme also includes activities to raise awareness among citizens to help reduce pollution and preserve the Nile River. 

“CEMEX provides cities and other industries with solutions for waste management, helping build a zero-waste circular economy. The unique characteristics of our production process allows us to co-process over 1.5Mt of waste per year in the EMEAA region, equivalent to the annual waste generated by a city the size of Madrid or Berlin,” said Sergio Menendez, president of CEMEX Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. “This collaboration will help ramp up waste collection efforts in the Nile River, replace fossil fuels in our production process, and lower our carbon footprint in Egypt.”