In light of the global challenge – whereby the world is set to build the equivalent of a city the size of New York every month over the coming decades – Holcim Mexico and its waste management business, Geocycle, hosted a senior executive forum titled "Evolution Toward More Sustainable Cities." Held at the residence of the Swiss Ambassador to Mexico, Alain Gaschen, the gathering brought together representatives from SEMARNAT, Mexico City’s Integrated Waste Management Agency (AGIR), ECOCE, and Nestlé to analyze the challenges and opportunities arising from the evolving circular economy regulatory framework in Mexico.
The forum highlighted the need to move toward waste management models that prioritise recycling and waste valorisation, utilizing safe, sustainable, and large-scale solutions that avoid final disposal. In this context, the adoption of the General Circular Economy Law presents an opportunity to strengthen collaboration among authorities, municipalities, companies, and specialised providers.
Mexico generates over 50 million tons of municipal solid waste annually, yet only 5% of this waste undergoes treatment (according to recent SEMARNAT data). Facing this challenge, Geocycle offers industries, municipalities, and other waste generators a comprehensive solution for managing non-recyclable waste, transforming it into resources that can be utilised in cement production.
"For Holcim Mexico, sustainability is not an agenda separate from the business; it is the way we do business. Faced with the need to build more efficiently and cleanly, waste need not mark the end of a story, but rather the beginning of a new one. No single company or government can solve this challenge in isolation; true change occurs when we connect public policy with technology and industrial capacity to turn waste into resources that generate value for the country," stated Christian Dedeu, CEO of Holcim Mexico.
With an investment exceeding US$500 million in Mexico over the past five years, Holcim has driven the country's development through innovation, operational efficiency, and the integration of new business lines. These investments incorporate a vision of sustainability and decarbonisation that strengthens waste management and recovery capabilities, consolidating the company's contribution to the circular economy.
Part of this capital injection is reflected in the operational rollout of its subsidiary, Geocycle. Through seven operational plants in Mexico, Geocycle manages over 600 000 t of waste annually—an amount equivalent to the emissions generated by more than 125 000 mid-sized cars in a year. Using thermal co-processing technology, various waste materials that lack traditional recycling alternatives can be transformed into alternative fuels for cement production, while certain materials can be utilised as alternative raw materials; this avoids final disposal and contributes to the production of cements with a lower carbon footprint.
This capability complements recycling efforts by providing a solution for waste that, due to its characteristics, cannot be reincorporated into new products. In this way, Geocycle aims to become a strategic partner for industries, businesses, and municipalities requiring waste management solutions that meet the demands of a regulatory environment increasingly oriented toward the circular economy.
Adding to this network is the new infrastructure in Tecomán, Colima, designed to process over 45,000 tons of sugar-industry biomass annually. The project utilizes locally generated waste to create an alternative energy source for cement production, simultaneously helping to reduce waste disposal and fossil fuel consumption.
"Geocycle’s approach is to transform waste into a valuable resource that is reintegrated into the economy; we seek to complement traditional recycling chains and serve as the industry's best ally in achieving sustainability goals," commented Oscar Rivas, Director of Geocycle.
Closing the loop in construction: from rubble to the city of the future
In the urban landscape, Holcim is transforming the building value chain through its ECOCycle® technology. Operated at key facilities such as the Arvide, Vallejo, and Iztapalapa plants in the Valley of Mexico, this solution enables the processing of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW)—a sector generating over 10 million tons of debris annually in the country—and the incorporation of up to 10% recycled aggregates into new concrete production, directly reducing the extraction of virgin resources.
Through this integration of non-recyclable waste co-processing via Geocycle and demolition material recycling using ECOCycle®, Holcim Mexico strengthens a comprehensive circular economy proposition for the construction sector: recycling materials that can re-enter the production cycle and safely recovering value from those that cannot be recycled.
In this way, Holcim Mexico contributes to building a more circular development model, in which waste is no longer viewed solely as a disposal issue but—where technical conditions allow—becomes a resource capable of generating value for industries, cities, and communities.
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