Reverse Logistics Applied to the Sustainable Management of Post-Consumer Cement Packaging

Abstract

One of the main global challenges is developing methods for the sustainable destination of non-recycling wastes. In this study, a sustainable treatment and destination for post-consumer cement packaging through analyses of its potential as an alternative fuel in cement production and the evaluation of the use of reverse logistics as a tool for the management of this waste were carried out. A methodology was adopted through bibliographic research, laboratorial evaluation of cement bags and case study of reverse logistics in a large Brazilian cement company that uses co-processing. The results proved, through laboratory analyses, the suitability of the post-consumer cement packages for use as alternative fuel in clinker kilns. The viability was proven through the use of the reverse logistics tool as a management model, using facilitating levers such as return freight and collected packing volumes. The results of these experiments can provide a basis for cement companies, especially in South America, to use similar methods to ensure the final reverse logistics of their waste.