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.
Insee Ecocycle becomes subsidiary of Insee Cement Sri Lanka
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.
UltraTech Cement starts processing municipal waste from Vellore
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.
GICA tests processing waste fuels at Meftah cement plant
Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d’Algérie (GICA) has started testing processing waste-derived fuels at its Meftah cement plant. The pilot project will handle waste fuels and sewage sludge, according to the Algeria Press Service. Testing started in October 2017 and it will continue until 2021 before the plant starts to use alternative fuels commercially. The company also hopes to spread the use of alternative fuels to other cement plants in the country following the pilot stage. The plant is operated by Société des ciments de la Mitidja (SCMI-Meftah), a subsidiary of GICA.