UK: Geocycle, the industrial and municipal waste management subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, has launched its UK operations. The company supports co-processing alternative fuels at cement plants.
“Organisations in the UK are increasingly adopting sustainable business practices, and co-processing provides a practical, cost-effective and environmentally-preferred option to landfills. We’re extremely excited to have launched Geocycle in the UK. With operations in Cauldon, Staffordshire and Cookstown, Northern Ireland in the UK and an extensive global network, we look forward to extending our offer to environmentally-responsible companies,” said Michael Awanayah, General Manager of Geocycle UK.
N+P Recycling buys out Subcoal
Netherlands: N+P Recycling has acquired all the shares in Subcoal International as well as Subcoal Production. The move follows the initial purchase of a majority holding in these companies in 2013. N+P has since invested in the development of the Subcoal companies, including work at the Delfzijl production site.
The Subcoal concept was developed in 1998 by DSM but was only fully implemented on a large scale in 2010. Since N+P’s involvement in 2013, the concept has developed globally with demand growing for Subcoal as an alternative fuel used by cement or power plants.
Based on the success of the concept N+P expects a growth of the production capacity to 0.5 – 0.7Mt/yr. The first new production facility is expected in the UK by mid-2018.
Development bank approves US$7.4m loan for Votorantim Cimentos to co-process alternative fuels
Brazil: BNDES, the national development bank, has approved a US$7.4m loan for Votorantim Cimentos to co-process alternative fuels. The funds will be used to adapt the company's industrial units to process industrial waste, tyres and biomass, according to the O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper. The cement producer is preparing to spend US$13.6m towards modifying its plants at Salto de Pirapora in Sao Paulo and Edealina in Goias.
Opposition political party backs tyre burning ban in Nova Scotia
Canada: The New Democratic Party has called for a ban of burning tyres in Nova Scotia. The opposition political party held a news conference with opponents of the government's decision in July 2017 to approve a one-year pilot project allowing Lafarge Canada to burn tyres for energy at the company's Brookfield cement plant, according to the Canadian Press newspaper. No tyres have been burned at the plant so far as the cement producer waits for industrial approval of the project from the provincial government.
Mark Butler of the Ecology Action Centre said the government’s decision was based on a Dalhousie University engineering study that was too narrow in its focus and wasn't peer reviewed. However the government has said that it used several technical studies to inform its decision. A group of local residents also started legal action in August 2017 on the grounds that the project violated the province's Environment Act.