At The International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) congress held in Novi Sad, Serbia, the business association of the Cement Industry of Serbia (CIS) presented solutions for the preservation of the natural resources and responsible waste management, but also, the important role of the cement kilns co-processing for the contemporary waste management in Serbia.
Co-processing was presented by CIS representatives, Dimitrije Knjeginjić, President of Assembly, and Dejana Milinković, Director of CIS.
Koen Coppenholle, executive director of The European Cement Association (CEMBUREAU), presented EU28 best practices for implementation of recycling in cement industry, pointing out its importance for achieving the national recycling goals of EU states. He also presented co-processing achievements in EU28 for 2014.
Juraj Čiz (Ecorec, Slovakia) and George Tagarinski (Green Alternative Energy Assets – GAEA, Bugaria), presented co-processing experiences in their countries and importance of co-processing for circular economy.
Radmila Šerović, head of Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection – Division for control of waste management, spoke about the development plans for the national Waste Management Strategy (for period 2010-2019), about its objectives and economic instruments for their achievement.
“We believe that the cement industry will have an important role in Serbia for the development of contemporary waste management, and that it will be recognized as a reliable partner for solving local and regional challenges regarding waste management. There are almost 3,600 landfills in Serbia, with 0,87kg of average daily production of waste per capita, so we need efficient solution to address this issue. Cement producers in Serbia are co-processing close to 50,000 tons of waste per year as energy source, and about 320,000 tons as substitute for natural raw materials. We are ready to offer solutions that can be seen in developed EU countries, regarding disposal of different types of waste, on a large scale, in a safe, secure and controlled manner, with no side effects for the environment whatsoever”, said Dejana Milinković, Director of CIS.
Use of alternative fuels and raw materials by co-processing in cement industry brings multiple benefits for both the cement industry and local communities. Therefore, the important step for achieving sustainability goals, not just in the industry but at the national level, is to provide support by national institutions regarding further improvement and development of co-processing.
Cement industry of Serbia has a production capacity of 3,6 million tons of cement per year, and plans to increase the use of alternative fuels in production process for at least 60% by 2030.
At the same time, cement industry in Serbia has capacity to recycle close to 350,000 tons of waste per year.
