Bangladesh: LafargeHolcim Bangladesh has expanded its waste management network through a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with textiles industry body the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Under the MoU, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh’s waste management subsidiary Geocycle will begin providing its services to BGMEA’s member companies.

The Financial Express newspaper has reported that LafargeHolcim Bangladesh CEO Mohammad Iqbal Chowdhury said “BGMEA is committed to the sustainable waste management of the clothing industry and unique solutions like Geocycle can play a pivotal role in addressing the waste challenges of the industry.”

UK: Thousands of tonnes of waste ceramics from one of the UK’s largest ceramic tile manufacturers will be recycled to make cement as part of a new initiative from Aggregate Industries. The cement producer, owned by Holcim, has agreed a four-year deal with Johnson Tiles to take 20,000t/yr of legacy waste scrap from its Stoke factory in Staffordshire. They will be transported a short distance to Aggregate Industries’ Cauldon cement plant, where they will be crushed and mixed with limestone and the other raw materials prior to entering the kiln.

Andrew Whyatt, Geocycle UK General Manager at Aggregate Industries, said “We are delighted to be working with such a potteries stalwart as Johnson Tiles in order to recycle what would otherwise be a waste product. Materials such as this offer a great alternative to excavating fresh raw materials, preserving our local natural resources, whilst offering a solution whereby 100% of the material will be upcycled into new local cement. Both companies share a drive towards sustainable manufacturing and partnerships like this are vital as Aggregate Industries aims to reclaim or recycle 3Mt/yr of materials by 2025.”

Europe: The European Parliament voted in favour of multiple amendments to the European Commission’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) on 22 November 2023. The amendments remove, modify or make non-binding the PPWR’s 2040 reuse targets. Meanwhile, 2030 targets were made adjustable to recycling rates. Total packaging volumes are still required to drop by 5% by 2030 and by 15% by 2040 in each member state.

Sustainability lobbying organisation Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) described the introduction of recycling rates into a lower schema of waste targets as ‘comparing apples with pears.’ ECOS attributed the amendments to a ‘barrage’ of false claims, scaremongering and lobbying from industry players.

ECOS programme manager Mathias Falkenberg said “This decision will not sufficiently address rising plastic and packaging waste or the pollution crisis. The European Parliament has just weakened a perfectly feasible solution to tackle throwaway culture without offering an alternative. It is very frustrating that the European Commission’s progressive prevention and reuse agenda has not received full support from the Parliament today.”

ECOS founded the Alliance for Low-Carbon Cement & Concrete (ALCCC), an association of companies focused on alternative building materials production, in May 2023.

Uganda: Hima Cement has awarded a contract to Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda to supply waste plastics for use as alternative fuel (AF) at the cement producer’s plant in Kasese. Under the contract, Holcim subsidiary Geocycle will collect and process the waste.

PML Daily News has reported that Hima Cement CEO Jean-Michel Pons said “As part of our decarbonisation and circular economy approach, we utilise materials at the end of their lifecycle as AF, such as industrial wastes like plastics and agricultural wastes like biomass, thus reducing the carbon intensity of our cement, while offering a unique solution to waste challenges.”