Waste
- Expensive collection and disposal
- Limited landfill capacity and expansion pressure
- Leachate risks to groundwater and coastal water
- Difficult logistics and long-term environmental liabilities
FEG Island Infrastructure Group
Shared infrastructure for geographically constrained regions
Turning Island Waste Into Island Wealth.
A problem shared is a problem solved.
Engineering-led shared infrastructure, bringing technologies, industrial expertise, project development and funding together to turn waste liabilities into potential local materials, resources and economic opportunities.
CONCEPT VISUALISATION · Not a built CIAP project
02 /The problem
Two costs. One opportunity.
Materials
- Imported aggregates and construction materials
- Expensive shipping
- International supply-chain exposure
- Limited local material production
03 /The opportunity
Turn a disposal cost into a potential local resource.
Recover suitable material locally: reduce landfill dependence, substitute some imported aggregates and preserve scarce land. Existing landfill reuse requires assessment, remediation and safe closure—not simply less new waste.
The solution in motion
From landfill diversion
to construction materials.
Divert suitable waste from landfill, use controlled thermal treatment and recover its mineral content for construction materials. Suitable organics follow a parallel composting pathway.
Two distinct residues, two qualified routes: APCR is used in the established accelerated-carbonation aggregate route; incinerator bottom ash (IBA) is the RPU development opportunity. Converging lines show potential product destinations, not automatic mixing. Separate treatment, material testing, leaching and end-use requirements apply; IBA compliance has not been established. Mineralisation may generate carbon benefits, subject to verification.
04 /What CIAP is
Circular Infrastructure Alliance Platform.
CIAP—the Circular Infrastructure Alliance Platform—coordinates technologies, industrial expertise, project development and funding. Modular applications are tailored to local needs: not every project includes every technology.
Waste processing & biomass utilisation
Controlled thermal conversion
Mineral recovery & CO₂ mineralisation
Aggregate & construction materials
Water & heat recovery
Supporting energy systems
Modular & potential mobile deployment
Research & integrated validation
CIAP is not starting from scratch.
Specific components have commercial precedent; the complete CIAP system still requires integration and demonstration.
Explore the platform05 /The mineral opportunity
Established APCR. A wider IBA opportunity.
Established route · APCR
Air-pollution-control residue.
APCR is the primary material in the established accelerated-carbonation aggregate route. This provides a technology precedent—not evidence that the integrated CIAP platform is already demonstrated.
RPU development objective · IBA
Incinerator bottom ash.
Adapt the process and plant so IBA can potentially achieve comparable aggregate performance and applicable leaching requirements. The opportunity is to extend the usable mineral resource beyond APCR—not to claim that IBA compliance has been achieved.
APCR and IBA are distinct residues, not interchangeable feedstocks or an automatic combined mix. Each route requires characterisation, suitable treatment, physical-property and leaching tests, and approval for the intended end use. Remaining unsuitable residues need compliant management.
06 /Shared capability
Not every location needs to own every technology.
A shared alliance can make specialist capability accessible across locations. Land-based infrastructure is primary; mobile and potential barge deployment are assessed where logistics and feasibility support them.
Explore the shared modelCandidate locations
Shared infrastructure. Locally grounded.
High waste-management costs
Treatment, transport or disposal creates a substantial local burden.
Expensive imported materials
Aggregates and construction products carry high import and logistics costs.
Sufficient construction demand
Local projects need materials with suitable specifications and reliable offtake.
Dependable suitable feedstock
Waste or other resource streams can support a safe, consistent process.
Initial assessment may include the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Ocean. Economic and logistical conditions—not island status alone—determine suitability. No location is selected, approved, funded or committed by being listed.
Guyana, Dominican Republic and Cayman illustrate potential applications—not selected projects.
Review candidate locations and assumptionsCaribbean clusters
One fleet, shared across islands.
Deployment circuits · Proposed clusters
Caribbean Deployment Circuits
Each proposed cluster explores shared access to a fleet of mobile modular units. Groupings are indicative and subject to feasibility study and government agreement. No participation or deployment is confirmed.
The clusters shown cover the eastern Caribbean and the Guyana–Suriname biomass assessment only at this stage. Wider assessment across the rest of the Caribbean would follow feasibility, to identify similar clusters or larger standalone site requirements.
Cluster legend
- Circuit A — OECS North
- Montserrat · St Kitts and Nevis · Dominica · Antigua and Barbuda
- MSW-led · municipal solid waste
- Circuit B — OECS South
- St Vincent and the Grenadines · Grenada · Saint Lucia · Barbados
- MSW-led · municipal solid waste
- Circuit C — Guyana / Suriname
- Guyana · Suriname
- Biomass-led · rice husk and bagasse
Outlined circles: proposed members. Filled dots: suggested first deployment sites. Dashed lines: potential circuit routes. All clusters remain subject to assessment.
Selected circuit
Circuit A — OECS North
- Countries
- Montserrat · St Kitts and Nevis · Dominica · Antigua and Barbuda
- Feedstock
- Municipal solid waste + tourism and construction streams
- Assessment basis
- Standard MSW assessment basis
07 /Regional Processing Unit
A modular building block, designed around materials.
Land-based infrastructure is primary, with mobile and potential barge deployment assessed where feasible. The proposed RPU configuration still needs engineering, material testing and demonstration; it is not a built facility.
Inspect the configuration and capacity basis08 /Current development stage
Established components. Integration still to prove.
Commercial technology precedent does not establish readiness of the whole platform. Feasibility, engineering and validation must precede an industrial-scale pilot and integrated demonstration.
Review the full technology maturity breakdown09 /Product portfolio
Materials first. Energy and water alongside.
Mineralised aggregates
Commercially demonstrated components · local validation required
Conditioned mineral residues assessed as aggregate replacement. Local ash chemistry, leaching and construction specifications determine suitability.
Construction blocks
Established production methods · CIAP products require validation
Potential local block manufacture using compliant recovered mineral material, subject to mix design, durability and strength testing.
Cementitious materials / SCM
TRL 4 research · requires validation
Biomass-derived supplementary cementitious materials investigated for partial substitution in construction mixes. Performance is feedstock-specific.
Foamed concrete
TRL 4 research · requires validation
A potential lightweight construction pathway for suitable MSW-derived mineral fractions. Product safety and performance must be demonstrated.
Secondary value streams · subject to feasibility and demand
- Recovered metals and other materials
- Feedstock-specific chemical products
- Useful heat
- Electricity · PV / BESS support
- Potential desalinated water
- Compost / soil amendment
No water output or zero-residual-waste outcome is guaranteed. Mineralisation may generate carbon benefits, subject to verification.
Resource Flow
Resource Flow Animation
Two Feedstocks: MSW & Biomass
Municipal solid waste and biomass follow distinct pathways towards potential construction materials, with recovered products, energy, water and MSW-only CO₂ capture on side branches. Outputs depend on feedstock suitability, engineering and validation.
Two feedstocks: municipal solid waste and biomass. Sorting at the land-based reception site removes metals and plastics; recoverable plastics are sold and unrecoverable plastics go to a dedicated thermal treatment unit, keeping chlorine out of the main flow. Each main line runs through processing stages towards potential construction materials. Biomass cementitious material also feeds into MSW aggregate production. Produced aggregates / engineered fill then go to stockpiling and delivery to the block plant. Stage-two CO₂ absorption occurs during stockpiling, not aggregate production. Side branches show recovered materials, energy, heat, water, carbon capture (MSW line only — the biomass process has no CO2 capture) and compost. Tab moves between nodes; arrow keys move spatially; Enter or Space opens details; Escape closes them. Full stage descriptions and connections are available in the expandable text alternative below.
MSW pathwayBiomass pathwayCompost pathwayConstruction materialRecovered materialEnergy & heatWater & saltCarbon captureCompostProcess step
Swipe to see more
Feedstocks, stages & outputs — text alternative
Other feedstocks we can treat
Alongside MSW and biomass, these feedstocks can be assessed for mineral recovery. Suitable streams may enter conditioning and mineralisation without thermal treatment; contaminants, chemistry and product safety must be assessed case by case.
Mining fines
Fine tailings from ore processing, assessed for mineralisation and potential aggregate production without thermal treatment.
Sewage sludge
Municipal sludge assessed for drying, stabilisation and potential material recovery; contaminants and treatment requirements determine suitability.
Brown coal PFA
Pulverised fuel ash from lignite generation, assessed for conditioning and mineralisation as an already-combusted residue.
Bauxite red mud
Alkaline alumina refinery residue, assessed for CO₂ mineralisation and potential fill; safety and leaching require validation.
Steel slag
Furnace slag assessed for carbonation and aggregate use. Mineralisation may generate carbon benefits, subject to verification.
CKD / CBD (cement)
Cement kiln and bypass dust, assessed as reactive binder feedstocks subject to chemistry and product-performance testing.
10 /Research & validation
The evidence behind each material.
University of Greenwich contributes materials research and technical expertise, subject to appropriate agreements. Laboratory validation, feedstock-specific research, cementitious material development and potential doctoral research support the programme.
- Feedstock and ash chemistry
- Material strength, durability and leaching
- Integrated engineering and environmental testing
- Consortium engineering expertise, including AFRY
Named participants have agreed to be listed. Research involvement does not imply university ownership of the complete platform or completion of all tests.
See research and validation
Local employment
Potential jobs across the whole resource pathway.
Local materials production can support employment beyond the processing plant: skilled operations, maintenance, deliveries and shared services. Training and local workforce development would form part of deployment planning.
Block and aggregate manufacturing
Potential roles in block manufacture, aggregate production, material testing, quality control and product dispatch—keeping more construction-material value locally.
Metals extraction and recovery
Sorting, metals separation and recovery, equipment operation and preparation of recovered metals for local use or onward sale.
Thermal treatment and waste-to-energy
General thermal-treatment (incineration) operation, emissions monitoring, maintenance and site safety, with waste-to-energy operating roles where energy recovery is viable.
Sand batteries and heat delivery
Where feasible, sand-battery thermal-storage operation and maintenance, alongside logistics and deliveries for useful heat services.
Desalination and water delivery
Potential desalination plant operation, water-quality monitoring, maintenance, storage and water deliveries where a viable, approved water system is included.
Marine work and disaster response
Potential barge crews, marine engineering, mooring and transport roles where barge deployment is feasible; post-disaster response planning, logistics and safe debris-processing operations where authorised.
These are potential employment pathways, not confirmed jobs, recruitment offers or job-count forecasts. Roles depend on feasibility, local demand, funding, approvals, safety requirements and training. Energy, sand-battery, desalination, marine and disaster-response activities are conditional options, not committed services.
11 /Funding pathway
Development support first. Deployment follows evidence.
- 01Feasibility
- 02Engineering and validation
- 03Industrial-scale pilot
- 04Demonstration
- 05Project finance and deployment
The immediate requirement is non-dilutive development funding: grants and technical assistance for feasibility and an industrial-scale pilot. Future commercial or project finance follows validation—not a current equity investment offer.
Understand the funding pathway12 /Current requirement
Translate the building blocks into a financeable project.
- 01
Site-specific feasibility
Feedstock, sites, logistics, product standards and deployment economics.
- 02
Pilot engineering & research
Engineering configuration, integration, laboratory tests and environmental pathway.
- 03
Integrated demonstration
Pilot target TRL 6–7, before deployment and future replication.
13 /Contact
A problem shared is a problem solved.
Discuss funding, technical assistance, partnerships, research or a candidate location.
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