El Salvador: Geocycle, the waste management subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, plans to invest US$1m in new equipment. It will be used to process solid waste before co-processing at a cement plant, according to La Prensa Gráfica newspaper. LafargeHolcim operates two integrated cement plants in the country.

Germany: Vecoplan has celebrated its 50th anniversary. It was originally founded in 1969 in Bad Marienberg in Westerwald where it maintains its headquarters. The company develops, produces and markets machinery and plants for shredding, conveying and processing primary and secondary raw materials gained in recycling processes.

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement plans to spend at least US$19m on building waste gasifiers at its Ho-Ping cement plant in Hualien County. The unit will be used to burn solid municipal waste, according to the Taipei Times newspaper. The Hualien City government awarded the tender to the cement producer in May 2019. Taiwan Cement intends to build the unit by 2022 whilst it gathers the necessary operating permits. However, Taiwan Cement faced opposition at a public meeting on the project in June 2019. It defended the plans saying that its Guigang plant in Guangxi Province, China burns 0.33Mt/yr of solid waste.

Philippines: Republic Cement has signed a co-processing agreement with Century Pacific Group to burn post-consumer plastic waste as an alternative fuel. The deal is part of a move by the group to become ‘plastic neutral’ by 2020, according to the Philippine Star newspaper. Century Pacific Group includes brands such as Century canned tuna and the Shakey’s Pizza chain. Republic Cement is licensed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to use and dispose of waste streams through cement kiln co-processing.