Shredder converts waste into RDF for Colombia's cement industry

25 August 2022

An UNTHA CR2000 shredder is set to drive forward Geofuturo’s energy-from-waste (EfW) operations in Colombia, converting the country’s waste into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for the cement industry.

The equipment will be processing approximately 2200tpm of materials at the firm’s new EfW plant, Geoparque, in Cartagena. The materials, which include waste wood, textiles, plastics and leather, would have previously been sent to landfill. Geofuturo expect to decrease the amount of waste sent to local landfill in Cartagena by almost six per cent, by the third year of the plant’s operation.

The plant was inaugurated on 23 August, and approximately 100 industry experts and officials attended the event, including the the country's environment authorities, Austrian Chamber of Commerce, cement producers and waste management companies.

Hector Montellano, Latin America sales and business development director at UNTHA Ibérica, said: “With its high-torque electric drive technology, our CR2000 shredder will allow Geoparque to achieve high performance and maximum throughput – producing a high-demand homogenous 50mm fuel for the cement industry.”

The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia launched the Carbon Neutral Colombia strategy in 2021, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. “This project will help us to harness the resource potential of waste that is currently being landfilled in our country – creating a valuable and alternative energy source which helps to reduce our nation’s use of ever-depleting fossil fuels,” said Olga Lucia Gaviria, manager and founder of Geofuturo.