UK: Untha UK has appointed Marcus Brew as its new managing director. Brew was previously the sales director. The previous managing director since 1997, Chris Oldfield, will become the company chairman.

"Having been a part of the business for seven years, it is a pleasure to now lead the company through our next phase of growth. In truth, Chris and I won't feel much of a change, as we've both been concentrating on these responsibilities for some time – the new titles are really just a formality," commented Brew.

US: The Indiana Department of Environmental Management will hold a public hearing about the use of liquid waste-derived fuel at the Essroc Cement Speed plant. Essroc Cement is applying for a state environmental permit to burn liquid waste-derived fuel in one of its cement kilns in the unincorporated Clark County community of Speed. Residents have expressed concerns about the plants. No date for the meeting has been set, according to Associated Press.

Mike McHugh, the Speed plant's director, said Essroc plans to use products mostly from the petroleum industry, such as paint thinners, antifreeze and acetone. The plant will have to build two small storage facilities for it to start replacing about 25 – 30% of the coal it burns with liquid waste-derived fuel.

Essroc Corporate Environmental Engineer Luis Rodriguez said the company welcomes the public's questions. The company hosted an open house and talked with community leaders in 2014 before it submitted its application. "We actually want it to go to public comment so we can answer some of these questions... We've wanted to be as upfront on this as possible," said Rodriguez.

Ecuador: Hormicreto has ordered two calciner burners and a hot gas generator for its swing mill application, for alternative liquid fuels firing, with a thermal capacity of 5.2MW, including the complete the fuel pumping, heating and valve train, from FCT Combustion for its cement plant in Cuenca, Ecuador.

US: A waste-to-solid-fuel plant has broken ground in West Virginia. Its developers say it is the US' first resource recovery facility that employs mechanical biological treatment (MBT).

The waste-to-solid-fuel plant in Martinsburg, West Virginia, called Entsorga WV, is expected to be operational in early 2017. Entsorga WV is a joint venture between Apple Valley Waste Technologies, Entsorga USA and Chemtex International.

By utilising the HEBioT MBT system, Entsorga WV will recover biomass, plastics and other carbon based materials from the mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) stream and convert them into an alternative fuel. When processing the MSW, Entsorga WV will remove other recyclable commodities such as ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The MSW received will be converted to solid recovered (SRF), which will be used as an alternative or supplement to fossil fuels.

The plant will be able to produce about 50,000t/yr of SRF, which will be delivered to the Essroc Cement Plant and used in conjunction with coal. The companies have entered into a long-term contract for the provision and acceptance of the SRF.

The reduction of waste that will be disposed of in landfills as a result of the Entsorga facility will result in a greenhouse gas emission reduction of 28,000t/yr of carbon dioxide equivalent. There are currently more than 330 MBT plants in operation throughout Europe, processing more than 30Mt/yr of municipal solid waste.