Philippines: Republic Cement is supporting efforts to remove plastic pollution from the sea by co-processing the waste in its cement production. The Business Mirror newspaper has reported that the cement producer has partnered with plastic waste collector Pure Oceans to take delivery of shipments cleaned up from off the coasts of Batangas and Davao.

Republic Cement chief executive officer Roman Menz said "Republic Cement is proud to partner with organisations such as Pure Oceans. Their deep commitment towards safeguarding the environment, while making significant contributions to the Philippine plastic waste crisis, is an inspiration for us to continue doing what we do in order to make a tangible impact on our communities, towards building a greener and stronger republic."

Through its partnerships with local fishing communities, Pure Oceans diverted 1.93m bags of plastic waste over the three years prior to the start of October 2022.

France: Fives has secured a contract to supply a 65MW Pillard NOVAFLAM burner to a cement producer. The customer’s aims are to continue to maximise alternative fuel (AF) use, to improve clinker quality and to reduce NO_x emissions at its cement plant. The order also includes precalciner burners and a natural gas-powered 35MW Pillard hot gas generator, as well as valve trains and pumping systems.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has signed a deal to receive 6.5t/yr of shredded waste from Bunawan municipality’s Panacan barangay for co-processing as alternative fuel (AF) in its cement production. SeeNews has reported that Holcim’s waste management subsidiary GeoCycle will process the AF. The partners aim to increase the volume of deliveries in future.

Davao cement plant manager Sam Manlosa said, “We are proud to provide our host barangay Panacan a sustainable waste management solution and thankful for their trust. We hope this partnership will further expand to other communities and the entire city of Davao so we can be a stronger partner in its sustainable progress.”

Panacan is the 28th community throughout the Philippines to enter into a waste management partnership with Holcim Philippines, and its 18th new partner in 2022. In August 2022, the company secured deliveries of waste collected in Bulacan province’s Binangonan, Cainta and Taytay municipalities in Rizal province for co-processing at its Bulacan cement plant.

Canada: Lehigh Cement has initiated the administrative process to begin the use of alternative fuels (AF) in cement production at its Picton cement plant in Ontario. Under the company’s plans, the plant will substitute 200t/day of AF for coal and petcoke at the plant. Possible AF sources include excess seed from farm feed production in Ontario. The Picton cement plant previously reduced its CO₂ emissions per tonne of cement by 20% through assorted sustainability initiatives.

Picton plant manager Carsten Schraeder said that the move will support Canada’s 2030 emission reduction plan, and also take pressure off landfill sites.