Reducing waste

For several years now, ADDEV Materials has been trying to optimise its processes to minimise waste. Waste sorting is in place at all our industrial sites, but unfortunately our CIW (non-hazardous industrial waste) bin is still full because there are no recycling channels for certain materials.

In 2021, we had identified that only a few sites accounted for the majority of our waste produced at Group level: this is particularly the case at our France Découpe site (28% of waste produced per ADDEV Materials in 2021, i.e. 409 tonnes), which is why we have undertaken a major improvement programme at this site.

We have perfected our waste sorting procedures with the systematic separation of materials on each production line, the installation of a new centralised waste storage area to reduce on-site flows, and the purchase of new ergonomic containers to better transport waste from production to the warehouse.

In order to reduce the volumes of CIW waste, we have added extra controls on the machines and made strict adjustments to reduce the use of raw materials during production. Regular analyses of our CIW waste are also carried out by our treatment service providers to identify recycling and recovery channels. At the France Découpe site, a new system for washing printing parts has also helped to reduce water consumption and hence the volume of contaminated water.

At the France Découpe site, all these actions have reduced the volume of waste produced by 20%. They were carried out with the aim of reducing our impact on biodiversity and carbon emissions linked to waste processing, in line with our Ecological and Energy Transition approach and our Decarbonation action plan. It has also enabled us to reduce our treatment costs, which have risen steadily in recent years, with our service providers. The aim is to roll out these actions and methods to all our sites in France and abroad.