Roanoke Cement awarded gold certification for zero waste efforts

US-based Roanoke Cement Co (Titan America) has been awarded Gold certification by Green Business Certification for its zero waste efforts at its Troutville plant.

"In order to elevate our TRUE Zero Waste certification, we ramped up our zero-waste policy to include, for example, physical audits of waste and improving recycling practices on-site," says Lindsey Layman, environmental engineer at Roanoke Cement. "As a result, we have created a zero-waste culture and achieved an average of 98.4 per cent overall diversion from landfill, waste-to-energy incineration and the environment for solid, non-hazardous wastes."

From 2019-20, Roanoke Cement earned an additional 21 points in the certification process by tightening its practices in reuse, audit, training and local purchasing activities related to diverted materials, according to a statement. Diverted materials included plant waste (spilled clinker, cement or raw materials), cement kiln bypass dust and solid municipal wastes.