As New Zealand’s Tyrewise starts to take control of the country’s waste tyres, one of the key outlets looks like being a cement kiln
New Zealand’s sole cement producer, Golden Bay is developing the sustainability of its Portland plant near Whangārei.
The plant has been using waste tyres for fuel since 2021, assisted by Ministry of Environment funding of US$10m as part of the US$15 million upgrade to the existing plant.
The aim is to replace coal completely by 2030 and has recently seen its ELT consumption rise from 15,000tpa, to 30,000tpa, with a target of 40,00tpa.
The project is supported by Tyrewise, and Golden Bay has installed a tyre shredder on site. The ultimate aim is to completely eliminate coal from the processing, using a mix of wastes including tyres, plastics, carpets etc. The plant is claimed to be diverting 100,000tpa of waste from landfill.
