Hazardous waste AAK Responsible Growth | 25 Waste Disposal of waste During 2012, our production plants generated 77,000 MT of waste, a 13 percent decrease compared to 2011. All 99.8 percent of the total amount of waste was non-hazardous. In waste disposal, there is a clear, very positive tendency towards reduced use of landfill. Nevertheless, new acquisitions joining the AAK Group have had less waste disposal focus and have a challenge improving waste management to meet AAK objectives for 2015. 2,000 MT were disposed of in landfill in 2012, which is an increase of 29 percent compared to 2011. However excluding our new acquisition the waste to landfill improved 18 percent. A large proportion of our waste is shea meal, which is the residual product when oil is extracted from shea kernels. Shea meal has no nutritional value and is used as biomass in power plants. The majority of our finished products are delivered in bulk, defined as more than 0.9 MT per delivery unit, thus including pallet tanks. Delivering products in bulk means a reduction in packaging material. By weight 69 percent of our products are bulk deliveries, while 31 percent are packed goods. Total waste Upgrading waste stream segregation Recycling has been a huge challenge at the AAK Louisville facility. 2013 has seen a concerted effort to reduce landfill-bound waste and increase our recycled material levels. Among the efforts implemented this year are increased accumulation of waste oils shipped to biodiesel plants; increased recycling of plastic including bags, bottles and straps; efforts to keep cardboard free of oil so that it may be recycled; and an automated system that allows more oil to be reused in our products, so that it does not go out as waste. One challenge facing all US vegetable oil facilities is disposal of spent bleaching earth. US federal laws require bleaching earth to be shipped as a hazardous material in transit, and historical disposal methods such as composting are no longer viable options. The alternative is landfill disposal. Overall, there are many challenges, but the single biggest improvement will be the installation of a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant that will allow more oil to be separated from water than is currently possible. The installation will increase the total percentage of waste recycled at the facility. Scott Welsh Health, Safety and Environmental Manager, USA MT 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2012 waste disposal 22% 75% 3% 0% Reuse Recycle Recover Landfill % 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 2009 2010 2011 2012
AAK Responsible Growth 2012-2013 - UK
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