PROSER
PROSER
Handling and management of urban solid waste with recyclable characteristics
The importance of the issue of the generation and adequate management of urban solid waste (MSW) does not only involve the environmental and public health effects derived from its generation and management, it is also implicit, from another angle, the use of natural resources.
According to the report data What a waste 2.0: A global snapshot of solid waste management to 2050 published by the World Bank, the global MSW generation in 2016 was estimated to reach 2010 million tons. By 2030, the world is expected to generate 2.59 billion tons of waste annually and by 2050, it is expected to reach 3.4 billion tons.
Composition of MSW
The components found in the MSW are very varied, this is due to the different factors related to human activity; They can be determined by the characteristics of the population that generates them, the cultural and economic level of the population (urban, rural, tourist, industrial, etc.), they can also vary depending on the time of year in which they are generated.
Internationally, the largest waste category is food and green waste which accounts for 44 percent of total global waste; dry recyclables (plastic, paper and cardboard, metal and glass) equal another 38 percent of waste. The Latin American and Caribbean region generated 231 Mt of waste in 2016, with an average of 0.99 kilograms per capita per day.
In Mexico, according to the most recent figure published in the Environmental Situation Report of the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) In 2015, MSW generation reached 53.1 Mt. If expressed per inhabitant, it reached 1.2 kg on average daily in the same year.
In this sense, at the federal level, SEMARNAT promotes the comprehensive management of waste, from its generation to its final disposal through the intermediate stages of collection, transportation, storage-transfer, use and treatment, through plans, programs and framework. regulatory, complemented with education, training, communication and strengthening of the legal and administrative framework, among others. In this area, the Sustainability Secretariat (SS) of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL) through the Directorate of Environmental Management and Operational Safety (DGASO), carries out the implementation of a comprehensive management plan for the different types of waste that are generated on the UANL campuses, with the objective of eliminating and/or minimizing the impacts caused by inadequate management thereof, thus complying with current environmental regulations and promoting a culture of environmental care among the community. university and its social environment.
Urban Solid Waste (RSU) at the UANL
The MSW generated at the UANL is collected by authorized companies, to be transferred to a transfer station and subsequently taken to the landfill of Comprehensive System for Ecological Management and Waste Processing (SIMEPRODE), located in the municipality of Salinas Victoria administered by the government of the state of Nuevo León where upon arrival a portion of the waste first goes to the sorting plant where recyclable waste (cardboard, paper, aluminum, plastics and steel) is separated. the rest is taken to the landfill cells. Already in the cells, the waste is compacted to reduce its volume and covered with layers of an impermeable material such as clay and earth, complying with the provisions of the General Law for the Prevention and Comprehensive Management of Waste (LGPGIR).
When MSW is found in an anaerobic environment, it generates methane gas, also called biogas, generated by the decomposition of organic matter. The biogas is conducted through a system of special pipes to a bioenergy plant where it is used to power a set of turbines that generate electrical energy, which is used to power the public lighting network of seven municipalities in the metropolitan area. of the City of Monterrey, five agencies of the state government, the Parque Fundidora, in addition to providing energy to the collective transportation system Metrorrey (urban electric train), which makes it a unique project of its kind, within the mitigation actions carried out in Mexico to avoid the production of gases that cause global warming.
Waste Separation and Recycling Program (PROSER)
The Waste Separation and Recycling Program (PROSER) of the UANL began in February 2013 in the rectory tower and administrative offices located in Ciudad Universitaria with the objective of maximizing the use of waste with recyclable characteristics and preventing or reducing impacts on the environment. For the recycling and transformation process of the waste obtained, we have the support of several local companies with extensive experience in the management of recyclables, thus ensuring the correct management and final disposal of MSW with recyclable characteristics. Currently, the program operates through a network of collaboration and commitment of several UANL agencies, where each one segregates its waste in special containers designated for this purpose. The waste once collected at the UANL facilities by local companies is incorporated as raw material into their processes and/or those of third parties for the production of new products. That said, MSW with recyclable characteristics generated at the UANL follow a circular economy model as established by the General Law of Circular Economy.
The term “Circular Economy” was used for the first time in 1980 to describe a closed system of interactions between economy and environment, based on the natural cycles of ecosystems, but it was not until 2012 when the Ellen McArthur Foundation took it up again in its research “Towards a circular economy: Economic reasons for an accelerated transition.”
In Mexico, the “National Vision towards sustainable management: zero waste” was promulgated in 2019 with the aim of transforming the traditional waste management scheme into a circular economy model, for the rational use of natural resources and favoring sustainable development in the country. In this sense, it is sought that MSW with recyclable characteristics be incorporated as raw material for the production of new products such as cardboard, recycled paper, aluminum cans and PET bottles.
The collection of recyclable material (paper, cardboard, PET and aluminum) is currently carried out systematically in 42 academic units and 23 central units (representing a 17% increase in program coverage compared to 2021) of the UANL which are listed below:
- 1. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de Educación Bilingüe
- 2. Escuela Industrial y Preparatoria Técnica Pablo Livas
- 3. Escuela Industrial y Preparatoria Técnica Álvaro Obregón
- 4. Escuela y Preparatoria Técnica Médica
- 5. Preparatoria No. 1
- 6. Preparatoria No. 3
- 7. Preparatoria No. 4
- 8. Preparatoria No. 5
- 9. Preparatoria No. 7
- 10. Preparatoria No. 8
- 11. Preparatoria No. 9
- 12. Preparatoria No. 10
- 13. Preparatoria No. 12
- 14. Preparatoria No. 13
- 15. Preparatoria No. 14
- 16. Preparatoria No. 15
- 17. Preparatoria No. 16
- 18. Preparatoria No. 17
- 19. Preparatoria No. 19
- 20. Preparatoria No. 21
- 21. Preparatoria No. 22
- 22. Preparatoria No. 23
- 23. Preparatoria No. 25
- 24. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas
- 25. Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica
- 26. Facultad de Contaduría Pública y Administración
- 27. Facultad de Derecho y Criminología
- 28. Facultad de Medicina y Hospital Universitario
- 29. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia
- 30. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
- 31. Facultad de Agronomía
- 32. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas
- 33. Facultad de Ciencias de la Tierra
- 34. Almacén General
- 35. Facultad de Ciencias Físico-Matemáticas
- 36. Facultad de Ingeniería Civil
- 37. Facultad de Enfermería
- 38. Facultad de Economía
- 39. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales
- 40. Facultad de Arquitectura
- 41. Facultad de Ciencias de la Comunicación
- 42. Facultad de Salud Pública y Nutrición
- 43. Facultad de Artes Visuales
- 44. Dirección de Servicios Médicos
- 45. Instituto de Ingeniería Civil
- 46. Centro de Investigación en Producción Agropecuaria
- 47. Biblioteca Universitaria Raúl Rangel Frías
- 48. Capilla Alfonsina Biblioteca Universitaria
- 49. Teatro Universitario
- 50. World Trade Center
- 51. Centro de Incubación de empresas y Transferencia de Tecnologías
- 52. Imprenta universitaria
- 53. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias de la Salud
- 54. Centro Universitario de Salud
- 55. Centro de Educación Digital y Emprendimiento
- 56. Centro Acuático Olímpico Universitario
- 57. Centro de Internacionalización
- 58. Dirección de Servicio Social y Prácticas Profesionales
- 59. Dirección de Tecnologías de Información
- 60. Dirección General de Planeación y Proyectos Estratégicos y Unidad de Seminarios
- 61. Dirección de Actividades Estudiantiles
- 62. Departamento de Becas
- 63. Departamento Escolar y de Archivo
- 64. Centro de exposiciones agropecuarias
- 65. Sorteos UANL
- 66. Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Sustentable
It should be noted that these facilities continually give training conferences aimed at students and teachers on the correct management of different types of waste, as well as the correct way to dispose of it to get the most out of these recycling programs.
Within the period February 2013 to December 2022, a total of 1,798.65 t of recyclable material with which environmental benefits have been obtained such as: energy savings of 8,070,690 kWh, 54,559,654 L of water not consumed, 25,728 trees not felled, 6,127 t of CO2 not emitted, 342,270 L of oil not used, 5,180 m3 of unused landfill and 178 t of unused bauxite.
During the year 2022, were collected 190.14 t of recyclable material, which resulted in important environmental benefits, including energy savings of 803,251 kWh and 5,378,326 L of water, among others, as shown in the following figure:
It is important to mention that the success of PROSER has been thanks to the commitment of the university community to adopt sustainable practices within their daily activities and thereby support the care of the environment.
Technical guidelines for the handling and management of waste
The UANL Sustainability Secretariat, through the Environmental Management and Operational Safety Directorate, formulated a technical guideline to:
This guideline serves as support for the correct handling and management of this type of waste in all departments.
English 
Spanish 
