India: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has set up agreements with two cement companies to process plastic waste. The cement producers will use plastics from a radius of up to 250km, according to the Times of India newspaper. Two plants have been selected initially and then further units will be added to the scheme as required.

India: UltraTech Cement has signed an agreement with Southern Railways to co-process waste at its Ariyalur plant in Tamil Nadu. Waste to be used as fuel at the plant as part of the ten-year deal will include rexin, cushion, coir and thermocol, according to the Times of India newspaper. The first shipment of waste to the cement plant was transported in mid-July 2018.

Sri Lanka: Insee Ecocycle has held a ceremony marking its launch as a separate subsidiary of Insee Cement Sri Lanka. The management team of Insee Cement Sri Lanka gathered at the Ecocycle Pre-processing Facility in Katunayake to mark the occasion, according to the Daily Financial Times newspaper. Geocycle Sri Lanka rebranded as Insee Ecocycle following the acquisition of Holcim Lanka by Thailand’s Siam City Cement.

India: UltraTech Cement’s Reddipalayam plant at Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu has started receiving domestic waste from the Vellore Municipal Corporation. The shipments are part of a local smart city initiative, according to the New Indian Express newspaper. Normally the cement plant sources its waste-derived fuels from a 150km radius but a special exception has been made in this case.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the cement producer and municipal corporations in the state to supply regular consignments of non-biodegradable wastes. At present 24 municipalities and one corporation in the state have signed contracts with UltraTech Cement to supply waste-derived fuels.