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Most industrial processes have various types of by-products. Some industrial wastes can be introduced back into production processes; others can be used by other industries as part of industrial symbiosis. Some waste streams are sent to landfills. Some of the waste streams of ICL sites contain hazardous materials that require specialized treatment. The Company tracks and manages all its waste streams and takes various steps to reduce waste and to identify and maximize potential reuse and recycling of relevant waste streams.
For details about specific waste reduction projects at our facilities around the world, click on the map to the right.
There are no clear trends regarding the amount of waste produced in ICL’s plants. Amounts can vary significantly over the years. The main reasons are large amounts of waste usually created during one-time construction/renovation projects, and certain waste types which are accumulated in storage ponds or other areas for several years before being transferred for treatment by external professional companies. Non-hazardous waste quantities decreased by 12% in 2020 due to such reasons, but were almost without change between 2018 and 2019.
The non-hazardous waste figures above exclude large amounts of waste streams that are sold for recycling/reuse as raw materials, as part of ICL’s circular economy endeavors. The waste figures do however include waste streams where ICL pays an external treatment company, which recycles the material.
Hazardous waste quantities can also significantly fluctuate between years, since certain waste types are accumulated for several years prior to being transferred for treatment by external professional companies. This explains the change in 2020, as the overall ICL hazardous waste quantities increased by 16% vs. 2019. Large amounts of hazardous waste, accumulated over several years, were sent for treatment by Israeli sites.
More than 99% of hazardous waste in all ICL sites is treated in countries of origin.
Most of the waste streams are either directly treated by ICL, or treated by an external certified vendor with whom the disposal method is directly confirmed.
ICL Rotem has created a business unit dedicated to viewing its byproducts in a new light and finding value in what previously were byproducts or waste streams of its production process. These byproducts contain viable and valuable minerals, such as Fluorine, Silica, Sulphur, Calcium Carbonate, and Calcium Sulphate. The byproduct unit is searching for possible business partners and opportunities, that will help ICL close the loop and re-use the byproducts as raw materials.
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