Canada: Lafarge Canada has commissioned a new lower carbon fuel (LCF) system at its Richmond cement plant in British Colombia. The fuel handling and delivery system is expected to replace up to 50% of the plant’s fossil fuel use with lower carbon fuels. The project cost US$20m. Lafarge received US$10m in funding support from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment. LCF used by the plant is comprised of primarily non-recyclable waste by-products.

“Lafarge is aligned with Metro Vancouver’s sustainability goals for recovering energy from landfill-bound solid waste, a classic example of the Circular Economy in action. This new system allows us to more easily reach our target of substituting 50% of our fossil fuel use with lower carbon options. Data from our pilot suggests we can go higher—even up to 70% is realistic,” said Pascal Bouchard, the plant manager at Richmond.

The Richmond cement plant is Lafarge’s first Canadian unit that has been permitted to use lower carbon fuels for 10 years. Previous upgrades allowed the plant to achieve 25% substitution rate.

Philippines: The Central Office of the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) has supported the import of alternative fuels by Holcim Philippines. The office sent a letter to John Simon the Port Collector of the Bureau of Customs, stating that it had no objection to the importation and use of processed engineered fuel (PEF) at the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, according to the Philippines News Agency. Simon had sought clarity from the EMB over the consignment. The PEF is intended for use at Holcim Philippines’ cement pants at Davao and Lugait.

Belgium: Cembureau, the European cement association, has called on European Union (EU) member states to promote the use of waste as a fuel for cement production. It made the call during an event that the association hosted during EU Green Week. The focus of EU Green Week in 2019 is on the proper implementation and impact of EU environmental laws.

“There is no technological limitation for the cement sector to reach 60% co-processing rate in 2030 and it could process 15.7Mt of waste. We believe that the EU and member states can help bring this about by introducing legislation to promote co-processing and recognising its place in a revised waste hierarchy within national waste framework laws,” said Cembureau’s chief executive Koen Coppenholle. At present the European cement industry has an average alternative fuels substitution rate of 44%.

Philippines: Republic Cement has signed a memorandum of agreement with Nestlé Philippines to co-process post-consumer plastic waste. The agreement was signed by chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Kais Marzouki and Corporate Affairs Head Attorney Ernesto Mascenon of Nestlé Philippines, and president Renato Sunico and director Nabil Francis of Republic Cement and Building Materials.

“Nestlé is aiming for plastic neutrality, which is essentially recovering plastics equal to what we produce. Aside from our current collection and recycling initiatives, we believe this effort will help us gather and co-process bigger volumes of post-consumer waste,” said Marzouki.

In April 2018, Nestlé globally announced a commitment that 100% of its packaging will be recyclable or reusable by 2025. The company’s vision is that none of its waste ends up in landfill or as litter. Nestlé has initiated and is driving waste collection efforts with various partners.