Ireland: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned Irish Cement to improve its environmental performance or face further sanction. The cement producer’s plant in Limerick, along with four other industrial sites belonging to other companies, have been identified on a National Priority Site List for enforcement. It added that these five sites represented less than 1% of EPA licensed sites but accounted for 8% of EPA site inspections completed so far in 2017. Three of the five sites has also accounted for over half of all complaints received to-date in 2017.

“A small number of sites have significant compliance issues and we consider them to be National Priority Sites for enforcement. The EPA will escalate enforcement action against companies and their directors, if necessary, if compliance does not improve,” said Gerard O’Leary, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement.

Netherlands: Alternative fuels specialist N+P Recycling has celebrated its 25th anniversary and the opening of its new headquarters in Nieuw-Bergen, Limburg. Company chief executive officer (CEO) Karel Jennissen presided at the event and Manon Pelzer, the mayoress of Nieuw-Bergen, was also in attendance.

200 guests attended the opening that included a guided tour of the new premises. At a ceremony marking the anniversary Karel Jennissen, with his wife Karin, presented the history of the company. Their three sons Lars, Stijn and Jens then gave guests a personal insight into their own experiences with the firm. This was followed the next day by a general tour of the facility for the local community with around 1000 members of the public.

A full report will be published in the September 2017 edition of Global Cement Magazine, including a visit to the company’s 80,000t/yr Subcoal production facility in Farmsum.

Image 1: Karel Jennissen of N+P Recycling

Image 2: Karel Jennissen N+P Recycling with his sons Lars, Steijn and Jens

Canada: The Nova Scotia provincial government has given permission for Lafarge Canada’s Brookfield plant to burn tyres for one year. Environment Minister Iain Rankin said that the results would be examined at the end of the pilot period.

“My decision is based on the science and evidence associated with this application as well as the public feedback received which helped to shape conditions of the approval,” said Rankin. “This pilot will confirm if the company can reduce current carbon emission levels at its Brookfield plant as the information provided in the application indicates.”

Terms of the pilot project include limiting tyre-derived fuel to 15% of total daily input and no more than 20t/day, forming a community liaison committee to keep residents informed of the project’s status and address their questions and to develop a complaints resolution plan.

Lafarge Canada will also be required to submit plans for related activities and apply for a temporary industrial approval to operate the pilot project. The required plans include: tyre storage and waste management; air dispersion modelling; continuous monitoring of emissions; stack testing before and after the pilot begins; and an emergency response if there is a malfunction of the kiln. The results of the pilot will be made public through a community liaison committee.

However, the plan has received criticism from the local community on environmental grounds. The local press has also questioned whether the provincial government is subsidising Lafarge Canada’s fuel costs as the region charges consumers recycling tariffs on goods such as tyres. A previous plan by the cement producer to burn tyres in the region in 2007 was blocked by the local government.

France: LafargeHolcim has launched a Euro100m upgrade to build a new clinker production line at its Martres cement plant in Tolosane. Construction work on the new line will start in the third quarter of 2018 and will be completed in mid-2020. A key feature of the upgrade will be a focus on using alternative fuels in the new kiln, particularly tyres. Following the project’s completion the plant will have a substitution rate of 80% from 30% at present.