India: ACC intends to substitute 5% of its annual coal requirement of about 5Mt over the next three years with waste generated by cities and other industries. The company aims to save USD12m in 2011 by burning waste, primarily plastics, at its plants. In 2010 the company saved USD9.6m on fossil fuels.

"We are currently working on disposal of city wastes. We are segregating the plastic wastes and then use it in our kiln. Plastic has higher calorific value than coal," said ACC Director (Energy and Environment) K N Rao at the 4th Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management.

"We have replaced 2% of our coal requirement by burning all types of wastes. Our target is to replace 5% of our total coal requirement within the next three years," Rao said.

ACC has an installed production capacity of 30Mt/yr in India where it uses about 5Mt/yr of coal. The company is currently implementing two pilot projects on management of waste for use as fuel at Kullu, in Himachal Pradesh, and Katni, in Madhya Pradesh. Besides plastic, the company also burns other materials that it segregates from city and industrial wastes.

Meanwhile the company has also announced that cement shipments reached 1.73Mt in September 2011, a rise by 9.5% compared to the same month in 2010. Production rose to 1.67Mt in September 2011 from 1.52Mt in 2010.