Cement News tagged: Environmental
Dominican Republic: Cemex carries out reforestation at San Pedro de Macorís
With the help of 100 volunteer employees, Cemex organised a reforestation day at the quarry of its San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic as part of its “Manos a la Obra” (Hands to work) programme. The day saw the planting of 5000 trees native and endemic to the island of Hispaniola. “At Cemex we are committed to minimising the environmental footprint of our operations. Therefore, w...
USA: Essroc's Speed plant has AF setback
Essroc's Speed cement plant, in southern Indiana, USA, has been informed by Clark County officials have decided that it will have to apply for rezoning to obtain a permit for burning hazardous waste for fuel. The Clark County Board of Zoning Appeals chose to uphold a letter that deemed an earlier decision to allow the Essroc to burn alternative fuel as void. County officials said the company...
USA: Cemex receives EPA certificates for five plants
Cemex USA has been awarded the US Environmental Protection Agency's Eneregy Star certification for 2016 at five of its cement plants. The Brooksville, Miami, Clinchfield, Fairborn and Victorville plants have all been recognised by Eneregy Star for their efforts in energy efficiency and sustainability. This was the 10th consequitve year that the Clinchfield plant achieved Energy Star Certi...
Philippines: new cement developed for rehab projects
Building Materials Inc and Republic Cement, Philippines, have developed a new cement called ‘Kapit-balay’, designed specifically for use in rehabilitating houses. Kapit-balay is a high-performance premium pozzolan cement with fly ash for a dense concrete structure. President of Republic Cement, Renato Sunico, said, “This product [has been] developed for renovation of disaster or [homes] des...
New BOPP film for extra bag protection
Cosmo Films, a speciality films manufacturer, has launched a special biaxially oriented polypropylene film (BOPP) to provide extra protection for cement bags. The BOPP film has a 100 per cent polyolefin structure which is designed to protect the bag's content by adding a moisture barrier. It can also be used to laminate block bottom cement bags. CEO of Cosmo Films, Pankaj Poddar said, "With...
South Africa: AfriSam sees market potential for slag cements
Mike McDonald, manager of AfriSam’s Centre of Product Excellence, says that he expects demand for better-performing cements with a low clinker content to grow in South Africa. This is considering the proposed introduction of a carbon tax in South Africa commencing in 2017, and the 'green' building and infrastructure movements that have brought a heightened awareness of the embodied energy a...
UK: cement plants in Olympic park?
Plans to construct four cement and concrete plants near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London have caused outrage among local residents. If the plans are to go through, more than 900 HGV movements would go in and out of the site daily. Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition objecting the plans, which have been put forward by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). The ma...
Vietnam: "Cement plants are damaging automotive trade"
Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy chair of Quang Ninh province, has instructed the provincial Department of Natural Resources and the Environment to examine the pollution level caused by the cement and clinker plants to find reasonable solutions. The step follows dust pollution issues caused by cement and clinker plants located at the Cua Luc river head. They ship their product out via Cai Lan Int...
Myanmar: protestors vow to continue fight against MCL
Local protestors in Kyaikmaraw in southeast Myanmar have reacted angrily to the publication of a report into the building a new coal-fired cement plant, Burma News International reports. The report, which follows a consultation on the building of the plant, was seen as being biased towards the Mawlamyine Cement project. The US$400m plant, which is being built as a joint venture between S...
Indonesia: PT Tripa Semen Aceh plant faces legal objection
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has filed the lawsuit against Aceh Tamiang district head Hamdan Sati, becasue the licence that PT Tripa Semen Aceh was given to establish a factory and a mine on 2549ha of land, in Kaloy village, threatens the Leuser Ecosystem and the community's clean water. The licence issued is said to be counter to the 2015 Aceh Government Law, which...
Indonesia: Kendeng plant protesters win temporary reprieve
People from the Kendeng Mountains, in the northern part of Central Java, have won a temporary reprieve after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that further environmental impact analyses would be needed before cement factory operations and mining could start in the area. Following his meeting with the Kendeng women, on Tuesday 2 August 2016, the President said that the analyses are to ensur...
United States: Cemex fined US$1.69m over air pollution
Cemex has reached a deal with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) whereby the company will pay a US$1.69m fine and install pollution-control equipment in five of its American plants, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The company will also be required to carry out energy audits at its plants and spend a further US$150,000 on energy efficiency projects. Last week saw the EPA file...
Japan: Taiheiyo Cement to set up subsidiary for biomass plant
Taiheiyo Cement will spend JPY23.5bn (US$224m) to set up a biomass power plant at a cement production site in Ofunato, Iwate prefecture, Japan. An electricity-wholesaling subsidiary with a capitalisation of JPY4bn will be created this August to undertake the project, reports Nikkei Asian review. The 75,000kW facility will be fed with palm kernel shells and empty fruit bunches left over from ...
Philippines: Human rights body begins investigation into GHG-emitting firms
The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) has begun an investigation into the possibility that major carbon-emitting multinationals have breached human rights law, The Guardian reports. This follows a petition from a group of environmental NGOs led by Greenpeace, which identified 47 Carbon Majors - publicly-traded companies that collectively are responsible for 21.6 per cent o...
USA: Cemex settles with EPA
Cemex and its affiliate, Kosmos Cement Company, have reached a settlement deal with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to resolve alleged historical violations of the Clean Air Act at five cement plants in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas. Cemex will invest around US$10m to cut emissions of harmful pollution. Emissions monitoring and reduction equipment will be installed at the...
Zambia: solar farm Zambezi Portland Cement
Zambezi Portland Cement has plans to establish a 5MW solar farm in Ndola, at a cost of US$7m. The company will be the first in Zambia's Copperbelt Province to produce electricity using solar energy. Operations Director, Daniele Ventriglia, said the company has submitted an Environment Project Plan (EPP) to the Zambian Environmental Management Authority (ZEMA) for consideration. According t...