Marathon Petroleum Corp: CIRCON Environmental recognizes MPC with 2022 Sustainability Leadership Award

For more than a decade, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) has worked with CIRCON Environmental to convert hazardous waste from oil tanks to waste-derived fuels used in cement production. At a ceremony last week, CIRCON presented MPC with its inaugural Sustainability Leadership Award, recognizing MPC for a decade of commitment to improving the environment through the program.

“We greatly value the partnership we’ve built for more than 10 years,” said Gary Higgenbotham, chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of Business Development for CIRCON. “Working together to convert hazardous waste into fuel for cement kilns is a conscious decision to reduce waste and displace higher-emitting fuels. This award celebrates MPC for choosing to find a better way to do business.”

“This award celebrates MPC for choosing to find a better way to do business.”

When MPC’s refinery tanks are cleaned, residual material is removed and placed in CIRCON’s proprietary transportation containment, eliminating the need for on-site storage and rental units. Valuable materials recovered from waste streams are used to create waste-derived fuels. Those fuels are sent via truck to power CIRCON’s network of cement kiln partners, displacing coal, leaving behind no residual ash and creating carbon offset benefits.



The partnership with CIRCON has accrued enormous environmental benefits over the years. More than 103,000 metric tons of waste from MPC refineries have become an alternative fuel source for the cement industry since 2013, avoiding over 248,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reducing cement manufacturers’ coal use by approximately 64,000 metric tons. Approximately 1.4 million gallons of waste-derived fuel was sent to cement kilns in 2021, keeping nearly 3,900 metric tons of waste out of landfills and avoiding approximately 18,700 metric tons of GHG emissions.

MPC Refining Environmental Director Ruth Cade has worked with CIRCON since the companies’ collaboration began. “We appreciate Gary and the CIRCON team very much,” she said. “Over the years, we have worked well together to consistently improve the commercial and environmental advantages of this program.”