Waste
For the second year, each Umicore site was required to report separately volumes of both hazardous and non-hazardous waste as defined by their local legislation. During 2007, many sites reviewed their waste management which resulted in more accurate figures compared to 2006. The figures below do not include the excavated contaminated soil from the various rehabilitation projects.
In 2007, Umicore generated 62,225 tonnes of waste compared to 62,031 tonnes in 2006.
The total amount of hazardous waste rose slightly to 26,921 tonnes in 2007. In 2006, when the zinc alloys business was included, the total volume of hazardous waste was about ten times higher that, at 263,000 tonnes, caused by the high volumes of an iron rich residue (“goethite”) which is generated by the zinc refining activities.
The increase of hazardous waste in 2007 compared to the adjusted figure for 2006 is mainly due to a deficient sludge drier in Pforzheim (Precious Metal Products and Catalysts) resulting in higher volumes. Furthermore, several sites identified additional hazardous waste streams that had not yet been identified in 2006. Examples include zinc ashes in Viviez (Zinc Specialties); coal tar in Changsha (Zinc Specialties); spent ethanol in Cheonan (Advanced Materials) and sludge from the waste water treatment at the precious metal operation in Suzhou (Precious Metal Products and Catalysts).
All these waste streams were recycled, resulting in a higher recycling rate for hazardous wastes of 14.2%, up from 4.4% in 2006 (figure 4).
Volumes of non-hazardous waste decreased from 37,089 tonnes in 2006 to 35,304 tonnes in 2007, mainly due to less construction debris at the site in Hoboken (Precious Metals Services). Sixty-eight percent of the non-hazardous waste was recycled compared to 63% in 2006.
Umicore on the way to sustainability