Go green!

Sicomo recycling company adopts waste-to-energy technology

July 27, 2011- Local paper-recycling company, Sicomo, signed a two-million dollar contract with the Swedish firm ‘energiprojekt AB’ to implement waste-to-energy technology. The project would help Sicomo turn waste plastics into hydrocarbons to fuel its plant with electricity and save on energy costs.

Sicomo claimed that it spends two million dollars per year to ensure its supply of fuel and to compensate for the recurrent electricity blackouts. “Such costs make the company's products less competitive in regional markets where competitors benefit from cheap energy cost or where energy is heavily subsidized,” it said.

Sicomo said that Sukleen, its primary source of paper and paperboard, should provide the plastic waste necessary to produce energy.

Located in the Bekaa valley, Sicomo produces a variety of cardboard products made with fully recycled waste papers. According to the company, the mill's annual capacity exceeds 20,000 tons, with more than 80 percent of the output exported to markets in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.