Preventing Waste:
Our Wastewater and Waste Management
As an alliance of companies with a sustainable business model, we align our operations to minimise the amount of waste products at every stage of the process. In our paper mills, for instance, we treat waste generated during production and re-introduce it back into the production process.
Our corrugated cardboard processing machines are also designed to avoid as much waste as possible. In addition, state-of-the-art water treatment devices and systems enable us either to return water back to nature in a completely safe quality or reuse it in production. There are many similar examples.
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„Waste management plays an important role in the global future of resource and climate protection. It is therefore essential that the raw material potentials stored in our infrastructure are returned to value creation.“
„Waste management plays an important role in the global future of resource and climate protection. It is therefore essential that the raw material potentials stored in our
infrastructure are returned to value creation.“
GRI 306
Effluents and Waste
| Waste (tonnages) | |
|---|---|
| Reused | 53489 |
| Recycled | 260774 |
| Waste incinerated with energy recovery | 81698 |
| To landfill | 20402 |
Our target for 2020 will be to reduce our specific waste generation by 2 %.
Total Waste in Tonnages
GRI 306: Waste by Type and Disposal Method
GRI 306: Waste by Type and Disposal Method
Case Cart-One, Italy:
Cart-One Installs New Water Treatment Plant
Cart-One’s Mezzani plant is equipped with a chemical-physical purification plant for the treatment of industrial wastewater: This consists of flexo wastewater generated by the printing units in the flexographic printing machines and starch water coming from the gluing units in corrugating machines. The treatment process generates sewage sludge that has to be disposed of as special waste – and on the other hand, purified water which is reused in the production of starch glue for bonding the cardboard in the corrugation phase.
A process that had to be revised: in 2017, Cart-One experienced an increase in the quantity of wastewater that had to be treated, while there was considerably less water available that could be reused for the preparation of starch. The latter was mainly due to the need to improve the starch quality, requiring a higher quantity of pure water for its preparation.
To overcome this increasing challenge, Cart-One decided to install a new industrial water treatment plant. Starting with the original flocculation and centrifugation chemical-physical treatment plant, an anaerobic digester was added. Furthermore, the centrifugal separator was replaced by a more modern and larger version. Finally, the chemical additives were changed to enhance quality and reduce costs. Well-considered measures that led to very satisfying results: the treatment process generated extremely highquality water, allowing it to be re-used for production or discharged in the local canal without impact to the environment. Cart-One achieved the perfect compromise between cost, water quality and recyclability – a benefit well worth the investment.
