Oman: Raysut Cement Company has signed an agreement with Arabian Industries for the installation of a gas pressure reduction station (GPRS) at its Raysut plant. Oman Gas Company has been appointed as the Project Management Consultant. Upon completion of the GPRS, cement production will be boosted by 120,000-130,000t/yr. Total investment in the project is estimated at US$5.45m.

UK: Wastecycle's recycling facility in Colwick, Nottinghamshire is now one of the largest in the UK after an expansion of the site. By acquiring seven acres of property, which the company previously leased, and buying an additional four acres, Wastecycle has extended its site to nearly 20 acres.

"It's an exciting time for us because this expansion provides us with the platform we need to reach the next stage of growth as a company," said Financial Director Nathan Cole. "Over the long term, we plan to use the additional land to expand our extensive recycling and resource management activities. This will help us broaden the services we offer our customers while improving the quality and sustainability of the recycled products we manufacture."

The company has also completed an expansion of its main office to accommodate its growing workforce. After a 20% growth in staff 2015, it now employs almost 300 people across its Colwick site and its two sites in Leicestershire. "Ensuring our teams are comfortable in their working environments is very important to us because, not only does it increase productivity, but it also creates positive morale," said Cole. "Larger premises also provide the opportunity to open up new jobs, while improving the quality of service we can provide to customers."

Wastecycle separates 500,000t/yr of waste, including 18,000t/yr of recycling from 126,131 homes in the Nottingham City Council area. Some of the waste is turned into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for use at cement plants. It also sorts through the rubbish of thousands of businesses across Nottinghamshire, runs a skip hire service and operates a wallboard recycling facility, which it developed with British Gypsum.

In 2014, Wastecycle's turnover increased to Euro42.8m from Euro35.9m in 2013. In 2015, it won four awards, including a bronze environmental best practice accolade at the Green Apple Awards in November 2015. It was recognised for the success of its wallboard recycling scheme, which has prevented more than 30,000t/yr of wallboard from reaching landfill.

South Korea: A new solid recovered fuel (SRF) production facility is now fully operational in Wonju City, South Korea, thanks to global shredding company UNTHA and local partner PERITUS.

Korean waste management specialist Zion has built the SRF manufacturing plant to make smarter use of its residual materials. Now, with the new system in place, pre-sorted construction and demolition waste and commercial and industrial waste, is being shredded to produce a homogenous 50mm fuel for the cement industry.

The UNTHA XR3000C shredder with cutting concept was chosen following a series of trials at UNTHA's Austrian headquarters. Demonstrations showed that the technology could comfortably achieve throughputs of 60-70t/day, with scope to almost double that moving forward. The XR3000C's flexibility also means Zion can achieve a 40-50mm particle size from the single step shredding of plastic bales, which has further boosted the company's SRF production capabilities.

"South Korea may only be in the infancy of its waste-to-energy journey, yet the nation has formed a very sophisticated and disciplined approach to its waste roadmap relatively quickly. Legislation is in place to drive the production of <50mm SRF and the necessary infrastructure is fast evolving to accommodate this," said UNTHA's Head of Business Unit Waste Peter Streinik. "What we see here with Zion, however, is not just a company striving for compliance. They're prioritising energy efficiency, profitability and innovation too, to realise the wider benefits that come with smarter waste management."

Committed to principles akin to Europe's waste hierarchy, Zion extracts as many materials as possible, including bricks, metal, sands, glass and batteries, for re-use or recycling, prior to them entering the SRF manufacturing stream.

"Our family-run business is incredibly passionate about renewable energy, from solar power to alternative fuel production," said Zion's President Geumju Kim. "Now that our new SRF plant is up and running, with state-of-the-art configurable technology in place, the next step is to investigate relationships with different customers. We can satisfy varied specifications, and look forward to improving South Korea's resource agenda."

Ireland: Irish Cement will burn used tyres in a bid to cut costs and secure jobs at its Limerick plant. The company plans to switch to dry waste material such as rubber from used tyres and plastic to heat the kiln at the plant. The switch will cut costs, make the plant cleaner and more competitive, according to the company.

A spokesman for Irish Cement said that the company would shortly be lodging a planning application with Limerick City and County Council for the replacement of fossil fuels with alternative fuels and raw materials to improve the sustainability of their operations. The company will also be seeking a revision of its licence from the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Limerick is Ireland's oldest cement plant, having commenced operations 77 years ago. Its continuous operation has been sustained by continuous investment in new technologies and processes. After the recent period of reduced demand, production is once again on the increase at home and abroad for cement. This fuel replacement programme will be key to sustaining this growth," said Plant Manager Pat Robinson. "Based on experience in other cement plants in Ireland and throughout Europe, the opportunity to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels will prove critical to our ability to operate competitively and sustain jobs at Irish Cement Limerick into the future."