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31
MYTILINEOS HOLDINGS - SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
2016
7.2.3 Management of solid and liquid waste
With regard to the management of solid and liquid waste,
their reduced output and the maximisation of recycling, reuse
and recovery methods, where feasible, form the basis for the
application of the Group’s environmental policy. In order to fulfil
this strategic line, all Group’s business units have developed
and applied relevant practices, which are included under the ISO
14001 environmental management system.
The total quantity of waste from the activities of MYTILINEOS
Group in 2016 stood at 799,405 tonnes, up by 2.4% from 2015.
This increase comes after 5 consecutive years of year-on-year
reductions in this figure. Nearly all of this quantity (99.8%) comes
from the Metallurgy & Mining sector.
In parallel, the Group continues to invest in research and
development in the utilisation of bauxite residues, by means
of scientific collaborations and active participation in European
programmes such as: «EURARE», «Marie Curie» and «Bravo»,
“ENSUREAL” and more. In this context, the kick-off meeting
of the 18 partners of the
European R&D program “SCALE”
, in
which ALUMINIUM OF GREECE is the coordinating partner, was
held at the Group’s Management offices in Athens (12/2016).
The program relates to
the development of technologies for
obtaining rare earths
(in particular, the Scandium element) from
bauxite residues. This project received top evaluation marks
and has already attracted the interest of the European research
community working on raw materials and metallurgy.
Moreover, the quantity of waste that was recycled, reused and/
or reutilised in various ways in the Group’s activity sectors
was
increased by 11.3% (i.e. by nearly 4,000 additional tonnes)
in
respect to 2015. This quantity relatedmainly to waste rock, bauxite
residues, alumina, industrial waste, as well as various types of
materials collected, which include metal scrap (e.g. iron and
steel), vehicle batteries, used lubricants, electrical and electronic
equipment, paper, carton, wooden pallets, home batteries and
toner cartridges from printers and photocopiers (840 pieces of
ink cartridges and toners). Where feasible, the materials to be
recycled are utilised inside the facilities of the Group’s subsidiaries.
Where waste cannot be recycled or utilised internally, this is done
through collective waste management systems or licensed waste
contractors.
Finally, the Controlled Landfill for HazardousWaste of ALUMINIUM
OF GREECE was the first of its kind in Greece and has been in
operation since 1999. The Landfill’s first 5 cells have already been
rehabilitated, in accordance with the approved environmental
terms. Today, the Landfill’s 6th cell is in full operation and is
considered as a model construction in the Greek industrial sector.
Like the previous cells, it receives waste from the aluminium
(materials containing fluorides from the reconstruction of the
electrolysis basins) and alumina production process. To address
future needs, the 7
th
cell is currently under construction and its
completion is expected within the first half of 2017. At the current
waste production rate, the 7
th
cell is expected to meet disposal
needs for a period of 15-20 years of operation.
Management of liquid waste and water discharges
G4-EN22
As regards the management of the liquid waste and water
discharges resulting from the Group’s activity, this is done
according to the parameters determined by the environmental
terms and regulations under which the facilities of the Group’s
activity sectors have obtained their environmental licenses.
Most of the liquidwaste in theMetallurgy sector is recycledwithin the
production process itself. More specifically, ALUMINIUM of GREECE
uses an underground system of water or waste collection pipes
which leads to a liquid industrial waste processing unit featuring: a)
settling basins; b) an oil separator; and c) a multi-layered activated
carbon filter. The pH value, temperature and flow are constantly
measured and monitored online. There is also a safety tank with
a capacity of 800 m
3
, to which waste is fed, when necessary, by an
automatic diversion system.
Group policy on the responsible management of waste:
-
responsible-management-of-waste
The bauxite extraction process and the aluminium production
generate the main volume of Group’s solid waste. In order to
manage efficiently this type of waste, MYTILINEOS Group has
carried out substantial investments.
For instance, in 2006 ALUMINIUM of GREECE was the first plant in
Europe to invest in the installation of a high-pressure filter (filter
press) focusing on effective disposal of this waste on land. Five
years later, the Group completed this investment by installing
4 filter presses, achieving the permanently dispose of bauxite
residues on dry land in dehydrated form. This technology is
considered worldwide as the safest disposal method which allows
on the one hand the direct transport (e.g. ship loading) of the dry
bauxite residues and on the other hand the application of specific
research programmes intended for converting bauxite residues
into marketable products.
The improvement in this particular area will largely depend on
the bauxite residues utilisation which, until their final use (e.g.
as a raw material to other industries) are disposed in a specific
Group-owned area called “Controlled Landfill for Non-Hazardous
Waste”, for the purposes of measuring the Group’s environmental
footprint in accordance with the terms of a relevant environmental
license.
200.000
400.000
600.000
800.000
1.000.000
1.200.000
2013
2014
2015
904.183,2
2012
929.231,8
758.732,0
2016
780.821,4
774.786,9
Non-Hazardous Waste Quantities (tonnes)
10.000
20.000
30.000
2013
2014
2015
19.175,2
2012
20.952,6
22.237,0
2016
18.629,3
20.145,7
Hazardous Waste Quantities (tonnes)
With regard to the types of waste, the quantity of non-hazardous
waste rose by a slight 2.9% but still remains at the low levels of the
recent years. Hazardous waste has been reduced by 16.2%, shown
the best performance recorded over the last six years. Over time
(in the last 5 years), the Group’s constant and systematic efforts
in waste management have led to the reduction of total waste by
20.2%.
Solid waste quantities from the Groups activities, by disposal method (tonnes)
G4-EN23
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Controlled Landfills for Non-Hazardous Waste
832,028.0 808,960.0 749,307.1 727,716.9
747,865.2
Recycling / Recovery / Reuse / Utilisation
33,252.2 72,507.0 28,107.2 32,463.7
36,137.6
Controlled Landfills for Hazardous Waste
16,997.3 19,020.0 16,043.6 17,363.2
15,363.8
Storage on-site
66,100.0 26,211.0
1,318.8
3,224.6
29.0
Disposal to third parties for further management or destruction
142.7
38.4
38.4
Exchange
-
-
-
8.46
4.98
Incineration (or use as fuel)
28.5
15.0
7.5
22.4
14.31
