Philippines: Holcim Philippines, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, substituted 100,000t of refuse-derived fuel in its cement plants’ fuel mix in 2020. The Business World newspaper has reported that the figure represents a 41% year-on-year decrease from 170,000t in 2019. That year, the producer recorded 38 days of zero coal use. The company said that the reason for the decline was supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Iraq: Germany-based Eggersmann Group has commissioned a 1040t/day refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plant in Sulaymaniyah municipality. The unit uses the company’s biological drying process to increase the yield of RDF from the municipal solid waste (MSW) it receives. Waste & Recycling Middle East and Africa previously reported that the plant can achieve a landfill diversion rate of 80%. A local cement producer will operate the facility and receive MSW from the region for a fee.

Italy: Port authorities at the Port of Salerno have blocked a shipment to Tunisia consisting of 600 containers of municipal waste after reporting ‘serious’ concerns with the consignment. The Agency Tunis Afrique Press has reported that the waste was bound for a cement plant to make alternative fuels. The Tunisian National Chamber of Cement Producers is in the process of challenging the move. The import of alternative fuels from Italy had previously been authorised by the Ministry of Local Affairs and Environment, through the National Agency for Environmental Protection.

New Zealand: Golden Bay Cement has commissioned a waste tyre feeding line at its Golden Bay integrated cement plant in Northland. The producer will cut CO₂ emissions by 13,000t/yr by substituting tyres for coal. It will eliminate the 5000t/yr of iron sands used in production and reduce coal use by 15%. The New Zealand government’s Waste Minimisation Fund supplied US$11.2m towards the US$17.5m project.

Government environment minister David Parker told Live News, "This innovative project is a win-win-win for the environment. It reduces a significant waste problem, reuses a valuable resource, and reduces carbon emissions by about 13,000t/yr.” He added that the line, "will divert from landfill or stockpiles about 42% of the estimated 3m waste tyres in Auckland each year. New Zealand needs to address its longstanding problem with waste so we can become the low-waste, low-emissions economy we need to be. "