The increased use of recycled materials is fundamental to its ambitions to become a carbon net zero business by 2050, alongside its efforts to decarbonise operations and enhance biodiversity.
Global building materials solutions supplier Cemex has introduced Regenera, a waste management and recycling partnership programme, at the company’s Coleshill Quarry in Warwickshire.
Production at the new Coleshill Regenera recycling facility started in September and has witnessed rapid early development due to a longstanding partnership with HD Ricketts, a major existing Cemex customer, specialising in recycled aggregates.
Lex Russell, Managing Director, Cemex UK, said: “Coleshill is a prime UK site for Cemex Regenera. With over 20 years’ experience in the waste management sector, Cemex launched the Regenera business globally in 2023 as a natural evolution for the organisation.
"We have been effectively managing and integrating waste and industrial byproducts into our production processes for many years. Regenera is now the umbrella under which Cemex will provide all of its circularity solutions which extend the life cycle of products and materials by re-purposing them into value-added products. A wide range of tailored services including reception, management, recycling, and the coprocessing of waste have also been incorporated into the Regenera offering.”
“Together, with HD Ricketts, our collective industrial waste management solutions not only aim to protect the environment and conserve natural resources, but also benefit communities by creating jobs in the local economy and help promote more sustainable development. Working in partnership with a long-standing major Cemex customer, means we have been able to leverage a wealth of collective experience in recycling, to become operational in a very short space of time, with minimal investment.”
Adrian Ricketts, Managing Director, HD Ricketts, added: “Working in partnership with Cemex builds on the existing close working relationship between our two organisations and brings together the best of both worlds. The combined expertise of HD Ricketts and Cemex’s Regenera business will allow us to maximise and explore many future opportunities in waste management and recycling - clearly demonstrating our joint commitment to circularity and decarbonisation.”
Regenera provides sustainable solutions for three major waste streams. Municipal and Industrial Waste, Construction Demolition Excavation Waste (and Industrial Byproducts.
Municipal and Industrial Waste has been contributing to the production of alternative fuels to power Cemex’s cement operations through its pioneering ClimaFuel solution, which has led to significant reductions of 71% in the use of traditional fossil fuels within the cement making process at its Rugby cement plant.
Drawing on it’s global infrastructure the Cemex UK Regenera business has seen significant growth in recent months. In addition to Coleshill, 5 further permitted Regenera recycling facilities are now on board in Berkswell, Swinderby, Dove Holes, Dagenham and Datchet. Cemex also has eight other permitted remediation, restoration and recovery voids that accept inert soils and stone.
The development of strong regional partnerships with local players such as HD Ricketts has enabled Cemex to blend assets, expertise and specialist skills to increase its ability to work with more and more recycled aggregates in its products.
Cemex is committed to growing the UK Regenera waste management network further in 2025, and beyond. At the forefront of the circular economy in the construction value chain, the company continues to increase the use of recycled materials into its product portfolio, reduce its reliance on single-use materials and pioneer new technologies to increase the use of waste and residues as alternative raw materials and fuels across its operations.
