As part of its eco-responsible approach, Geocycle Egypt, a subsidiary of the Swiss group LafargeHolcim, has just completed the cleaning of Baltim beach, located 190 km from the Egyptian capital Cairo. The initiative will contribute to the fight against marine pollution by plastic waste and to the development of the circular economy in the country of the pharaohs.
For the second year in a row, Geocycle Egypt, a subsidiary of the LafargeHolcim Group, has cleaned the beach of Baltim located in the governorate of Kafr El Sheikh. The operation, which saw the participation of 150 young volunteers, resulted in the collection of 80,000 plastic bottles in this 3 km2 seaside area where the water temperature averages 20°C.
“The challenge of plastic pollution is gaining more and more attention as one of the major environmental tests of our time. We cannot ignore the fact that plastic waste is often landfilled or incinerated and does not receive proper treatment,” says Adham Elmahdy, Geocycle Egypt’s General Manager.
Contributing to the development of the circular economy
The initiative led by the Governor of Kafr El Sheikh, Gamal Nour El Din will contribute to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) on climate action. Ultimately, it will also reduce marine plastic pollution, as the collected waste “will be recycled or used as an alternative fuel,” says Jimmy Khan, CEO of Lafarge Egypt, whose subsidiary is Geocycle. The company has become a major player in Egypt in recent years, converting waste into energy.
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In April 2019, Geocycle Egypt commissioned a waste-to-alternative fuel plant in Ain Sokhna in the Suez governorate. The facility converts approximately 400,000 tons of household, agricultural and industrial waste into biogas, fuel oil or diesel each year. This alternative fuel is used to power a local LafargeHolcim cement plant. Then in 2020, Geocycle disposed of 34.9 tons of obsolete pesticides stored in the ports of Alexandria, Safaga and Adabiya in Egypt. These different initiatives contribute to the development of the circular economy in the country of the pharaohs.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
