India: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board has ordered the closure of 18 ready-mix concrete batching plants in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune due to breaches of environmental regulations. Local press has reported that both commercial and on-site plants had violated rules on air pollution, including through the illegal use of diesel motors, and the discharge of contaminated water. A further four plants received penalties for minor breaches. The action followed local complaints about dust emissions.

A representative of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Assoications of India said that the “A complete shutdown of ready-mix concrete plants will affect on-going construction projects and increase costs.” They added that on-site plants help building sites to reduce their overall emissions.

UK: England Notional Building Material Group Holding Group (ENBMGHG) has launched its new CEggMent binder for concrete. The binder is capable of replacing up to 100% of cement and aggregates in concrete. It is available in individual ovoid packages, which can be dropped into the concrete mixer. They consist of a calciferous ‘shell’ that breaks into hard shards and a fluid centre that allows CEggMent to fill any space into which it is poured.

ENBMGHG has launched the ConWheat range of additives to aid the forming and setting of CEggMent, including ConEmmer, ConSpelt and EinCon. All ConWheat additives are available as bagged powders, ground to a fineness of 900cm²/g ‘Grade 2’ to 1800cm²/g ‘Double-Zero.’

ENBMGHG says that CEggMent is available to order across England in multiples of six or for collection with payment by means of ‘honesty box’ in rural areas.

US: Cortec has unveiled a new logo for its MCI brand of corrosion inhibitors. The logo retains its predecessor version’s grey and green hexagon and slogan ‘From Grey to Green,’ with a new bold, black font for the MCI name.

MCI corrosion inhibitors work topically or as a concrete admixture to form a protective layer around metal structures in concrete.

US: Holcim US won a National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) Concrete Innovations Award for its contributions to the Lower Carbon Content Concrete Pavement MnROAD project in Minnesota. The producer supplied its reduced-CO₂ ECOPact ready-mix concrete.

Holcim US North Central Regional Senior Vice President and General Manager Randy Gaworski said "Our ECOPact low-carbon concrete mix included Portland limestone cement (PLC), slag cement, fly ash and other materials to reduce total cementitious materials, achieving a mix with less than 50% clinker content. This innovative approach demonstrates the ability to reduce carbon content in construction materials with no compromise on performance."

Holcim also received nominations for its supply of its Ductal Ultra-High Performance Concrete for the Delaware Memorial Bridge overlay project in Delaware/New Jersey and its supply of its Agileflow ultra-lightweight concrete mix for the Babcock Street Outfall Project in Buffalo, New York.