Algeria: Minister of Water Resources and Environment Abdelkader Ouali has encouraged investors to enter the waste recycling market. The minister said that the industry could be worth up to Euro310m during a tour of a waste treatment project at the Lafarge Algeria cement plant at Oggaz.

Ouali also praised Lafarge’s initiative to eliminate wastes through the furnaces of the cement works. These operations have allowed the elimination, over the past two years, of 106t of expired medication, collected in 12 provinces. They have been carried out in cooperation with the ministry of Environment and the Algerian national union of pharmacies and dispensaries.

China: Shaanxi Qinling Cement Group is to buy a 34% stake in a waste management company based in Shandong. The transaction is valued at US$6.1m, according to Reuters. Following the purchase the cement producer will indirectly own a 90% stake in the company.

Mexico: Ecoltec has rebranded as Geocycle Mexico as part of an exercise to unify the brand globally. The company will maintain its commitment to offer management solutions.

“We believe in a cleaner and healthier world without waste, a place where we can all reduce our environmental footprint. With Geocycle, we provide industrial companies and municipal governments with sustainable solutions for the proper management of waste,” said Miguel Ladrón de Guevara, Director General of Geocycle Mexico.

Geocycle, part of the LafargeHolcim Group, focuses on managing waste for co-processing at cement plants. The company has 2000 employees in 60 countries on five continents, which includes 188 co-processing facilities and 10,000 clients worldwide. It contributes to LafargeHolcim’s sustainable development vision, whose goal is to double the percentage of alternative fuels in its energy mix by 2020, which would mean a reduction of more than 30Mt of CO2 worldwide.

Poland: Awbud has signed a deal worth Euro2.85m with LafargeHolcim to build an alternative fuel warehouse and an office building. The deal follows another agreement signed between the companies for an ash-separation installation at Elektrownia Siekierki power station, in which LafargeHolcim has a 30% stake.