Anglo Platinum on track to send zero waste to landfill

Anglo American Platinum is on track to meet its target of sending zero waste to landfill (ZW2L) by the end of 2020 with a 45% decline reported in the year-to-date compared with the same period in 2018.
Information made available by the company indicated that at the current Year-To-Date performance, the full year forecast for total waste to landfill will be an estimated 3 770 tonnes, a 52% reduction from 2018’s 7 899 tonnes. It was learnt that in 2013 when the target was set initially and the company’s operational footprint was bigger, waste to landfill totalled more than 22 000 tonnes.
In a statement the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Chris Griffith reportedly said the target to eliminate waste to landfill is in support of Anglo American’s broader environmental strategy which includes reducing water and energy usage, lowering emissions, dust and noise pollution, and implementing biodiversity stewardship programmes.
In August 2018 a specialist waste company Interwaste was appointed to assist with the development of a ZW2L strategy to support with solutions that will allow for ZW2L by the end of 2020, he stated. “With the world’s population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, we cannot continue to consume resources at the same rate. Back in 2013, our ZW2L approach was developed to not only ensure that our children inherit a sustainable future but for the direct benefit of our health and the natural environment and to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. All of this has the added benefit of cost savings for our company,” Griffith explained.
By treating waste as a resource rather than merely sending it to landfill, various revenue-generating and cost-saving opportunities have been unlocked, he added. Griffith reiterated that the reduction in waste can remove the need to build new landfills at Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena Mine in Limpopo and Unki Mine in Zimbabwe. According to him, on-site bioremediation facilities, off-takes for gypsum and sodium chloride as well as selling scrap metal, sodium sulphate and used oil has also generated additional revenue at some of the operations.
Lead Environment – Operations (Platinum) at Anglo American Hermanus Prinsloo was also quoted to have said: “Landfills are not a sustainable way to manage waste as they harm the environment and are costly to develop, maintain and ultimately remediate. However, transitioning to a zero-waste-system does not happen overnight. It requires a fundamental mind shift change to see waste as a valuable commodity, encouraging investment, creativity and innovative solutions. Zero waste to landfill is not just about keeping things out of landfills, it is also about reducing demand for things that are transient, that we just throw away after using them.”