More than 1,000 tons of garbage is processed daily at a modern recycling plant in Mexico City to make products such as plastic, aluminum, paper, and cardboard profitable, while reducing pollution.
It is a station for the conversion and selection of solid waste generated in a field north of the capital, where recyclable material is separated and prevented from being dumped in the open.
“Instead of converting the waste into a sorting plant, it is processed right here, which will result in more storage and use,” city secretary Jess Esteva told reporters this Friday.
According to the official, the recently opened site can receive 1,400 tons of garbage per day, of which 1,000 enter the plant, which are classified according to their characteristics.
The other 400 tons, made up of organic waste, with a population of 9.2 million, is being diverted to Megacity’s composting plant.
According to Esteva, the new complex is the most modern in Latin America, with German technical equipment such as “trommel or optical, ballistic and magnetic separators.”
The secretary expects sales of recyclables to generate 48 million pesos (about $ 2.4 million) in revenue for the city each year.
In addition, it will save 40 million pesos (about $ 2 million) a year by reducing its exports to land areas, he said.
“The plant will be paid for in four years because it will cost 385 million pesos (about $ 19.25 million),” the official said.
– Biofuels –
Covering an area of 11,000 square meters, the factory automatically separates 300 tons of waste and converts it into biofuel for the cement company.
A further 60 tonnes of paper, cardboard, PET containers, plastic bags and films, aluminum cans, textiles and glass will be sold to generate revenue used for machine maintenance.
“The waste dumped by collectors will enter a separation process in which we (…) will try to recover what we can use later,” Ricardo Estrada, deputy director of maintenance, explained to AFP.
According to official data, the site will receive about 300 collection trucks from four of the 16 municipalities that make up Mexico City, which generates about 13,000 tons of garbage daily.
Since the end of 2018, the mayor’s office has attempted to take 3,000 tons or less of trash daily to bins, most of which are located in the neighboring state of Mexico.
In 2018, those deposits reached 8,100 tons of garbage, which dropped to 6,100, according to the government led by Mayor Claudia Sheenbaum, which banned single-use plastic.
Authorities have been working for a decade to comply with regulations to encourage Mexican city dwellers to separate organic and mineral waste and promote their recycling.
