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Waste Management
At Alcoa waste minimisation is one of the greatest opportunities for us to reduce our environmental footprint.
All our operations throughout Australia have dedicated waste management teams, and in 2008 we recycled 61,983 tonnes of waste – this was a recycling increase of 7466 tonnes of waste materials.
We are also successfully converting waste products into re-useable resources.
Our Yennora rolled products plant in New South Wales is Australia’s largest recycler of aluminium. In 2008 we recycled around 70,000 tonnes of aluminium. Recycling aluminium contributes to global sustainability by reducing energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and use of resources.
In fact, producing aluminium from recycled aluminium uses only five per cent of the energy that would be required to produce the same amount from bauxite. The marvellous thing about aluminium is that is also endlessly recyclable. Since 1886, when aluminium production first began, it is estimated that two-thirds is still in use today.
In addition to recycling aluminium, we also reuse by-products from our smelting and refining processes.
In 2008, we recycled 7207 tonnes of spent pot lining (SPL). A by-product of the smelting process, SPL is made of carbon and refractory materials. We are able to process SPL at our Point Henry operations to produce mineral products and a fuel that also has reduced emissions for the cement industry.
We recycled 1485 tonnes more SPL in 2008 that in 2007.
During the year, we also reused 1024 tonnes of bauxite residue, down by 320 tonnes on last year. Residue is a by-product of the refining process. Our carbon capture process mixes waste carbon dioxide (CO2) with residue resulting in a carbon sink for more than 70,000 tonnes of CO2 and neutralising the alkalinity of the residue, opening the way for reuse.
In 2008, a major decommissioning project was undertaken at the former bauxite mine - Del Park. The project involved the removal of the majority of existing infrastructure including a number of buildings, containing steel, brick and asbestos, leaving only a workshop and minor office facilities still remaining at the location.
The Del Park decommissioning project focused on waste reduction through recycling and reusing as much material as possible and safely disposing of the minimal remaining materials.
Apart from our own activities and initiatives, our research group invests around $20 million annually in support of efficient, cleaner production initiatives to help us and others reduce raw materials usage.
A new initiative in 2008 to minimise wastage, was the introduction of pipe lining for the first time in our Western Australian Operations.
A whole section of slurry pipelines which run between our Kwinana alumina refinery and bauxite residue storage area were lined with 15mm high density polyethylene (HDPE) liner.
This secondary form of containment for the line not only provides secondary containment, minimising the risk of spills, but will extend the pipe from three years to an expected 10 years because of the slower wear rate of HDPE.
Other benefits of the new HDPE liner is reduced maintenance and change out costs for the pipe as well as providing safety and environmental benefits.
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