Waste

• In 2020, the main type of waste generated by Grupa Azoty S.A. was fly ash from coal, which was transferred to third parties for commercial use. In terms of volume, the second largest waste type was ash collected using a hydraulic conveyor system. All of the ash is utilised by Grupa Azoty Jednostka Ratownictwa Chemicznego. Sewage sludge is used as an additive for pellet production, while refurbishment and demolition waste finds its application as ballast for ground stabilisation. Used catalysts are sold to be recovered or regenerated. Hazardous product packaging, absorbents, filter materials, and chemical reagents are transferred for disposal.

• Grupa Azoty S.A. handles waste in accordance with the generally applicable laws provided for in EU Directives and the Polish Waste Act with its secondary legislation. The Company uses methods designed to reduce waste generation to the minimum. When a new solution is designed or selected, as early as in the bid selection stage we take into account the technology, raw materials that could guarantee minimum pollution and contamination, waste generation, and the possibility of environmentally safe processing of the waste. The majority of the raw materials and auxiliary materials used in production processes are supplied by rail cars or road tankers, which reduces the amount of packaging waste. Unit packaging in which production raw materials is supplied is collected and sent for recycling. Grupa Azoty S.A. has joined the packaging collection and recycling system and cooperates with a packaging waste recovery organisation. 

• Grupa Azoty Siarkopol generated significantly more waste, including mainly iron and steel, in 2020 compared with 2019, following the decommissioning of the carbon disulfide unit at the Chemical Plant. 

• Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn handed over approximately 99% of the waste it generated in 2020 to waste collection operators for recovery, including selectively collected waste representing secondary raw materials. The main waste type at the company is waste from the fuel combustion unit, i.e. slag, fly ash, ash and slag mixtures, waste from flue gas desulfurisation and waste from industrial wastewater treatment. All types of waste are collected selectively and stored at designated sites.

• At Grupa Azoty Puławy and Grupa Azoty Police, the waste they generate is managed internally or is transferred to authorised third-party operators. Inspections carried out by external authorities, which revealed no irregularities, confirmed that waste is correctly managed by the two companies. Products manufactured at the plants in Puławy and Police are sold in bulk or in packaging, including paper and plastic bags. The companies keep a record of the packaging that is placed on the domestic market or exported outside Poland with their products, and have signed contracts with a packaging waste recovery organisation.

In 2020, all Grupa Azoty Group companies undertook many initiatives of various scale to reduce their waste volumes. These included:

• reclassification of fly ash waste from coal combustion as a by-product;
• reduction of the amounts of landfilled waste by transferring it for commercial use (ash and slag waste is extracted from the landfill site and transferred to third parties);
• active search for waste collection operators that could collect waste for recovery;
• search for solutions enabling commercial use of the currently generated waste and the waste landfilled in previous years (e.g. by-products of combustion, landfilled ash and slag);
• use of by-products of production processes to recover useful components and thereby reduce the waste volumes;
• purchases of raw materials in reusable packaging;
• dewatering of sludge, which can then be transferred to third parties for further use;
• research work to develop technologies for sludge processing into fertilizer products.

Waste generated (2020) [Mg]

* The indicator is reported in accordance with the revised version of the GRI Standard and therefore no comparative data for 2019 is available.

* Hazardous and non-hazardous waste diverted from disposal, by recovery method and waste handling location (2020) [Mg]

* The indicator is reported in accordance with the revised version of the GRI Standard and therefore no comparative data for 2019 is available.

* Hazardous and non-hazardous waste directed to disposal, by disposal method and waste handling location (2020) [Mg]

*The indicator is reported in accordance with the revised version of the GRI Standard and therefore no comparative data for 2019 is available.

Percentage of reclaimed products and their packaging materials (by type of material)[%]