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.
India: Tiruchi Corporation has intensified efforts to dispose of non-recyclable plastic waste, aiming to reduce the burden on the city's landfills. Tiruchirappalli generates about 450 - 470t/day of waste, of which nearly 70% is segregated at the source. Waste collected from households and businesses is segregated into different categories, and non-recyclable single-use plastics are sent to Dalmia Cement for use as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in its cement kilns.
Around 4000t of plastics have been diverted to cement plants for use as fuel since July 2024. 8 - 10t of plastic waste are transported by truck from resource recovery centres in all five zones of the city. So far, about 454 trips have been completed.
Australia: Adbri’s cement plant in Adelaide has received approval to burn more plastic waste as alternative fuel for its kiln, in a decision a local council is seeking to challenge in the courts, according to ABC news. The South Australia Environment Protection Authority (EPA) earlier in July 2026 approved a six-week trial permitting Adbri to use greater amounts of refuse-derived fuel (RDF). The plant had previously been allowed to burn up to 32t/hr, with a maximum 20% concentration of plastic. From Tuesday 21 July 2026, RDF will fuel the kiln at a maximum rate of 10t/hr and 50% plastic concentration, although the EPA's website says ‘it is not expected that [rate] will be sustained on an ongoing basis.’ Port Adelaide Enfield Council last week voted to seek ‘urgent legal advice’ about pursuing an injunction on the trial. The council also wants the government to enact 24-hour stack monitoring.
Port Adelaide Enfield mayor Claire Boan said "We have not seen nationwide data of any kind whatsoever that actually explains this is safe for our community, and that's a great concern.
It's not about closing them down. They've been there for a hundred years, for sure, but we've been here building our homes and that's really important and should be considered as well."
Adbri said that it has diverted at least 2.7Mt of waste that would have otherwise been sent to landfill since it began using alternative fuel in the early 2000s. A spokesperson said "The RDF proposed for use in the trial is a highly processed engineered fuel that must meet strict EPA standards and quality controls before it can be used."
EPA compliance director Steven Sergi said that pollutant monitoring would occur at different spots, including at the site's stack, and that there would be ‘ambient air quality’ monitoring in the community. He said data would be collected on emissions of various particle types, and of SO2 and NOx. "There's parameters set in the licence - as soon as those parameters are exceeded, particularly in relation to air quality, the trial ceases immediately," he said. Sergi added that the EPA would be conducting unannounced inspections at the site and that a report was expected within 90 days of the trial's completion.
