Using recycled materials is one thing. But because all activities generate waste, we have a responsibility over the wastes and by-products produced by our units and manufacturing processes. As we aim to become a zero-waste to landfill company, we need to find solutions for all our residues.
One of our responses to this challenge is Recyco, our European recycling unit dedicated to recovering and treating the metallic content from melting shop dust and sludge. Re-using the furnace of a former melt shop, we treat these residues and extract the valuable metallic content to send it back for reuse.
In addition, all our units are working with our R&D department to find the right technical solutions, in line with local regulations, to address the hazardous wastes they produce, especially slags and acids.
On our path to become a zero-waste (for landfill) company, we report that less than 6% of our by-products were sent to the landfill in 2019, with the remainder being reused, recycled or stored for future recycling (see graph below).