Refuse-derived fuels (RDF) are becoming a key energy supply for power-intensive industries, a government source in the environment sector told EnterpriseAM. Higher demand and regulatory frameworks amid the rising prices of other energy sources have led to an expansion in the number of companies producing and using alternative fuels.

Alternative fuels are taking a growing share of the cement industry’s energy mix — but scaling up will require the state to do more to curb landfilling and better regulate the waste value chain, Geocycle’s Marketing Communications Manager Alaa Basyouni told EnterpriseAM. Geocycle — Lafarge’s waste management sister company — has pushed refuse-derived fuel (RDF) to over 30% of Lafarge’s fuel mix. The company handles some 500k tons of RDF annually, avoiding an estimated 250k tons of CO2 emissions per year.

Cement producers are well past the government’s mandate for alternative fuels, with some now targeting 30-40% of RDF in the energy mix, BioEnergy for Alternative Fuels’ CEO Mahmoud Galal told EnterpriseAM. BioEnergy sources feedstock through its Giza concession, operating a waste facility in Shabramant in coordination with the governorate and integrating with the informal sector — now largely formalized through licensed companies.

Steel and petrochemical plants have joined cement factories in using alternative fuel as an energy source, according to our source. The mandatory share of clean fuel was revised from 10% to 15%, and some cement factories are exceeding this percentage due to rising energy prices. Glass, metal industries, and aluminum companies will also soon join the system.

The informal sector plays a role in the RDF value chain. Other than acting as an unofficial filtration system, some landfill owners operate under usufruct rights from governorates, creating a semi-formal link between public authorities and informal markets. This trade — where all waste types carry monetary value — makes the RDF market part regulated, part unregulated, Basyouni noted. The Environment Ministry has 2k registered, licensed garbage collectors from the informal economy in its database, which will be integrated into specialized companies across different areas, our source said.

Alternative fuel production rose to 1.4 mn tons by the end of last year, compared with 850k tons at the end of 2023, according to our source. The number of companies producing it increased to 22 private sector plants after the tariff was revised to make it attractive to the private sector and after the waste collection and manufacturing system took over the process, resolving problems that had previously limited companies’ appetite for such projects, the source added.

RDF prices fluctuate monthly on the back of several moving parts, Basyouni told us. Demand from cement producers is the primary driver — when production ramps up, so does competition for the limited supply. Diesel prices feed directly into transport costs, making logistics a major factor. Seasonal spikes in truck demand can also cause shortages that push up prices. Add to that the open-market nature — part regulated, part informal — and you have a pricing environment where shifts in supply, demand, or fuel costs can quickly ripple through to the final tonnage price.

Short-term contracts are the norm amid volatile prices. BioEnergy previously inked long-term offtake agreements with cement producers, but volatile pricing has pushed the market toward short-term agreements. “Today you are in a market where you don’t know the prices, so you can’t repeat long-term agreements like before,” Galal told us. Strong demand from cement companies under decarbonization mandates is pushing prices higher. “There’s no oversupply — if anything, demand keeps growing,” Basyouni said.

On the feedstock side, garbage is abundant but dispersed, and the cost of imported shredders and other tech — though now easier to bring under improving import rules — adds to capex needs. In markets where landfill is heavily taxed or restricted, RDF becomes the clear economic choice for waste producers. Waste quality also varies, with high-income areas having “richer” waste streams due to high-calorific materials like plastics and cardboard, while low-income areas see more pre-sorting and recycling at the household level, leaving mostly organic waste.

Informal waste pickers often remove high-value materials before waste reaches RDF sites. Egypt’s RDF typically has a calorific value of 11-12 gigajoules, compared with 15 gigajoules in other countries. Water content is also a concern — some loads require drying — and contamination, particularly with medical waste, results in immediate rejection.

Landfill fees remain nominal, intended to encourage waste delivery to official sites, but too low to make RDF more competitive. In Europe, high landfill costs effectively killed the dumping model, pushing investment into sustainable waste management.

It’s an investment-heavy business. Geocycle invested around CHF 10 mn to set up the Sokhna platform, including USD 2 mn for two mobile shredders, and plans a further USD 5 mn to boost capacity and improve calorific value.

Private sector investments in waste-to-energy projects to produce alternative fuel currently range between EGP 4–5 bn, our source said. The government aims to double this figure by the end of the current fiscal year through expanding partnerships with the private sector to manage solid waste and produce alternative fuel.

Egypt collects 100 mn tons of waste annually, according to the source, but recycling rates currently stand at 37%. The goal is to gradually raise this to 60% by 2027 through greater private sector participation, in line with the global shift towards environmentally friendly energy sources.

Egypt could take a page from the European model, increasing landfill fees and enforcing penalties for improper disposal to discourage and push waste into formal channels. “As long as it’s easy to throw waste on the street, people will choose the easy option,” Basyouni noted. The Local Development Ministry has begun allocating cement companies waste management stations in some governorates — a step in the right direction, Lafarge’s External Communications Manager Ahmed Assem told EnterpriseAM.