Holcim El Salvador received the 100% Recovered Energy (Positive Packaging) distinction, awarded by the international certification company Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), for recovering from the environment packaging of the same or greater amount than the paper used in its cement packaging. The recovered packaging is used in co-processing.

The company recovers paper through a waste separation station in Santa Ana, where waste from 16 municipalities in the country arrives. Thanks to an automated classification process, usable waste is separated and transferred to Holcim’s sustainable waste management subsidiary Geocycle to treat it and convert it into energy. As a result, the resource is revalued and reused, promoting the circular economy.

“The projection for 2024 is to recover 66 per cent more than the paper used to market the different varieties of cement,” explained Jorge Peña, manager of Geocycle and sustainability at Holcim El Salvador.

In a specialised audit in 2023, SGS validated all paper recovery processes at the cement producer and issued the declaration under the ISO 14021:2016 standard. The certificate will be valid until 11 January 2027.