SITA UK to supply solid recovered fuel (SRF) to Cemex in Latvia

Recycling and resource management company, SITA UK, has signed a three-year contract to supply 180,000t of solid recovered fuel to Cemex in Latvia.

The fuel will be produced by processing residual commercial waste in a new, purpose-built facility at Ridham Docks in Kent. Once processed, the solid recovered fuel material will be used as a fossil-fuel replacement at Cemex’s cement production facility in Broceni, southern Latvia.

Speaking about the contract, Andy Hill, Organics and Alternative Solid Fuels Manager, at SITA UK said: “We have invested over GBP6m developing a new processing facility to produce and bale solid recovered fuel at Ridham. This brand new, purpose-built facility was commissioned in August and we are sending our first shipment to Latvia in September.

“We are producing solid recovered fuel to a detailed specification, which is required for cement kilns. We are using residual commercial waste which has a higher calorific value and lower moisture content than municipal waste. During processing we remove recyclables such as metals along with materials that are unsuitable for cement kilns such as bricks and concrete. The remaining material is then shredded and baled.

“The new facility will enable us to process up to 50tph of material and we will be able to extract more recyclables.

“By locating the processing facility at Ridham Docks, we are also cutting down on the need to transport the material in the UK as we can load bales directly onto ships from our facility.”

SITA UK has a one-year trans-frontier shipment permit to export the solid recovered fuel to Cemex in Latvia.

Commenting on the partnership, Enrique Garcia, CEO of Cemex in Latvia said: “The usage of alternative fuels (AF) is an integral part of our sustainable development strategy, and in Cemex Latvia we have been progressing very fast during the last couple of years in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Currently, more than half of our calorific consumption in the kiln comes from alternative fuels, and this agreement is a relevant step that will help us achieve our goals. We are looking forward to a very successful cooperation with SITA UK.”

David Palmer-Jones, Chief Executive Officer at SITA UK said: “We are pleased to announce this partnership with Cemex Latvia, which follows our announcement in April to work with Cemex in the UK*. This project will enable Cemex Latvia to use solid recovered fuel in place of fossil fuels and also means we can provide more of our customers with an environmentally sound alternative to landfilling their residual waste while there is a still an overall lack of recovery facilities in the UK.”