Croatia: The opposition Most party is opposing the Croatian government's plan to burn some of the waste from an illegal dump at Gospić in Nexe’s cement plant in Našice. Speaking at a news conference outside the Nexe company's cement plant in Našice, Most MP Marin Miletić said that the government planned to burn 650t of waste in Slavonia and Istria that it classified as ‘non-hazardous.’ He questioned this classification, stating that the waste had been brought into Croatia illegally.

"Slavonians must not remain silent,” said Miletić. “Slavonians did not produce this waste and there is no justification for them to bear the consequences of the actions of the Italian and Croatian waste mafias and the political decisions that enabled them.”

US: The Rhode Island Marine Trades Association Foundation (RIMTAF) has developed a pilot programme to test the use of decommissioned fibreglass boats in cement production. After removal of fuel, batteries and metal components, around 60t of hulls were cut and shredded at a facility in Johnson, Rhode Island, before being transported to Amrize’s Holly Hill cement plant in South Carolina.

When it enters the kiln, the resin in the hull-derived material acts as a fuel, partially replacing the conventional fuel used at the plant. The glass fibres contribute to the silica content in the clinker. The material was successfully accepted by the cement plant as both a fuel source and a raw material substitute. While 60t is a drop in the ocean, it is an important step towards a value-added reuse system for discarded fibreglass boat hulls, which are estimated to reach 200,000 every year in the US alone.

Croatia: Non-hazardous waste will be sent to cement plants belonging to Holcim Hrvatska and Nexe at a cost of €357,500, according to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. The waste is being stored at the PPK Velebit site in Gospić. It consists of plastic, tyres and other waste, which will be used in by the cement producers as alternative fuel. The work is deemed ‘urgent’ and will be completed within 45 days. Tabak Grupa reportedly bid for the waste, but later withdrew from the contract.

France: Vicat and Derichebourg Environnement will launch a new project through their jointly owned company VALèreCO dedicated to the production and energy recovery of solid recovered fuel (SRF). Derichebourg Environnement’s subsidiary Purfer produces alternative fuels for Vicat’s Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant.

The project involves the construction of an SRF production unit in Pagny-sur-Meuse at a cost of nearly €7m. The facility will produce 34,000t/yr of SRF (40,000t/yr at full capacity) to supply Vicat’s Xeuilley cement plant, which produces low-carbon cement. The project will reportedly avoid 30,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions by replacing fossil fuels. Vicat said that the project supports the companies’ ambitions to accelerate industrial decarbonisation and transform non-recyclable waste into alternative energy resources that can replace fossil fuels. The SRF will be produced less than 50km from where it is consumed, reducing emissions from transportation.