Canada: A director of Parry Sound Ready Mix has received a fine of US$3630 for noise violations at the company’s Seguin Township concrete batching plant in Ontario. The company reportedly failed to build infrastructure required under its Noise Abatement Plan, and did not perform a necessary acoustic audit.

India: Municipal authorities in Ahmedabad plan to order the relocation of all new and existing ready-mix concrete plants in the city away from residential areas. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the order is due in July 2025. This follows a recent update to plant guidelines to increase space requirements and licence fees.

Ireland: SlateRete is reportedly developing a novel concrete alternative using slate waste. The Irish Times newspaper has reported that the product will launch in 2026, once SlateRete achieves its pre-seed funding target of €850,000. The company plans to secure the necessary certifications for structural use.

Co-founder Hamed Panahiazar said that slate is ‘widely available,’ while its disposal ‘can be a headache’ for the Irish building trade.

Ukraine: Ma'Ryzhany Hemp Company has started up a new €17.7m hemp processing plant in Zhytomyr, situated in the Ma'Ryzhany industrial park, 160km from Kyiv. The plant will process hemp into various products, including shives for use in concrete, chipboard and bioplastics production. The plant has a capacity of 14,000t/yr and employs 200 workers.