Planet: safe and sustainable waste management
Energy recovery
We recover energy from waste through thermal treatment. This energy goes to heating networks such as the new industrial steam network ECLUSE in the port of Antwerp and to electricity grids. It is supplied to users as steam, heating and electricity. This approach has a lot of advantages. We are avoiding and reducing CO2 emissions. We are reducing dependency on limited fossil fuels. We are replacing them with renewable energy sources, such as green gas from composting VGF waste.
Materials recovery
We have to be sure that the products that are made from recovered raw materials have the same quality as products from primary raw materials and that they are equally safe. In our high-tech installations we recover as many valuable high-quality materials as possible from the waste we treat. We supplement mechanical recycling methods with new techniques for chemical and thermal recycling, such as Molecule Management. This breaks down hazardous industrial and pharmaceutical waste to its basic building blocks. New high-quality products are then made from these building blocks. That is why Indaver has plans for a facility in northern France that will recover chloric acid for a neighbouring company.
Protecting the food and materials chain
At the same time we are protecting the environment and the food and materials chains from contamination. In our thermal treatments we are not just recovering energy; we are also destroying the hazardous residues that must not end up in the materials chain. Any contaminants we can't destroy are treated and/or stored away securely. That is our 'Safe Sink' guarantee. This prevents hazardous particles from causing any damage, now or in the future.
Impact on the environment
Finally, we are trying to keep the environmental impact of our own activities to a minimum. As you can read in the Sustainability Report, we monitor this closely and aim to have a minimal impact on the air, water and soil. We use water and energy sparingly in our own processes. We are always looking for ways to reduce our own use of raw materials and we substitute new materials with recovered materials where possible. We try to limit our ecological footprint when transporting waste. Our activities meet the strictest environmental standards.
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