Pakistan: Cherat Cement has submitted a proposal to Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) to use municipal solid waste from the city as refuse derived fuel (RDF) under a public-private partnership. The company said that approximately 500t/day of waste is collected from Peshawar and currently dumped at a 1.6Mt capacity landfill. The initiative would replace coal in cement production and generate revenue for WSSP while tackling the issue of solid waste management.
Uganda: Hima Cement has said that over 50% of its fuel for cement production now comes from renewable biomass instead of heavy fuel oil (HFO). Head of regulatory affairs David Mugagga said that the biomass used to fuel the kilns at Hima Cement’s plants is sourced from coffee husks, palm kernels, rice husks and sawdust. Mugagga also said that the company collects hazardous waste to use as fuel, reducing the amount that goes to landfill.
India: Fire and Emergency Services personnel have been battling a fire at Vasavadatta Cement Factory in Sedam, Karnataka, since 12 April 2025. The blaze started in an open alternative fuel storage facility comprising mainly post-consumer plastic. It continued late into Tuesday 16 April 2025 local time and is thought to be still be in progress.
The District Fire Officer said that six engines from the Fire and Emergency Services Department and the cement plant’s private fire-fighting equipment was being staffed around the clock to handle the situation,. He added that the fire was caused by over-stocking the store and a failure to take basic fire precautions.
Panama: Cemex and the Panamanian Authority of Aquatic Resources (ARAP), with Audubon Americas as a facilitating partner, are working together to dispose of discarded fishing nets. Cemex plans to collect fishing nets via Regenera, its waste management business, and then use them as an alternative fuel at its cement plants. The initiative is intended to reduce the damage to marine ecosystems by so-called ‘ghost’ nets that kill animals such as fish, crustaceans, sea turtles, sharks and whales in the Gulf of Panama.
