The buildup of industrial waste is a problem present in most Brazilian cities. But there are technological solutions that allow the adequate disposal of pollutant materials, without interfering in the environmental balance. One of them is the co-processing of tires in furnaces of the cement industry. Modern and environmentally correct technology that permits the reuse of industrial waste of other companies, contributing towards the reduction of pollutant materials in a safe and permanent manner. A practical example of the use of co-processing are the 10 thousand old and unusable tires that are being removed this week from the old land waste site in the northern region of Porto Alegre and will be transported to a unit of Votorantim Cimentos in Rio Branco do Sul, in Paraná. This is proving possible due to the investments made by the company in the area of industrial waste co-processing. In recent years, Votorantim Cimentos has set aside close to R$ 4.8 million for the development of modern and environmentally correct technology. The cement production features furnaces that operate at a temperature of up to 2000°C. For this reason, the cement industry is the only one that can use industrial waste as a fuel source, providing it is properly adapted to guarantee ecologically safe co-processing. "Our company maintains an environmental management system that permits the identification and control of the impact of its activities on the environment", declares the director of southern operations of Votorantim Cimentos, Mario Luiz Franceschi Fontoura.