Cemex to make green fuel from local waste

Cemex has announced plans to build a plant capable of diverting 75% of Warwickshire's future waste from landfill and turning it into a resource for cement making.

The £35m investment would include the construction of a plant at its Rugby cement works designed to receive residual household and commercial waste and turn it into fuel.

Provided permission is granted, the 'Climafuel' plant would have the capacity to recieve around 300,000 tonnes of local waste a year. This would satisfy some 60% of the Rugby cement work's fuel needs.

The proposed plant's would use mechanical biological treatment technology (MBT), which accelerates the work of bacteria within the waste, producing a dry and clean material that burns well.

Cemex UK sustainability director Andrew Spencer said: "Reuse and recycling will always be the first choice, but MBT is a complimentary option. It provides a more sustainable solution to the significant and increasing challenge of reducing UK landfill for non recyclable material.”

The firm already uses chipped tyres as fuel to heat its kilns, which need to reach temperatures of 1400 degrees centigrade. The additional use of household and commercial waste could save up to 180,000 tonnes of fossil fuel CO² a year.

Assuming it obtains permission for the plant, Cemex will enter into an agreement with a specialist waste management company to run the facility.