WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING

Reduced waste - increased recycling

Veidekke companies transport and use significant quantities of materials that we either produce ourselves or buy from others. This applies to crushed stone and gravel, bitumen (binder for asphalt), concrete, soil mass, wood, glass, waste and combustion products. We plan to provide an overview in 2010 of these quantities as well as what climate influences the production and transport of these have.

Figures from Statistics Norway show that construction activity leads to around 1.24 million tonnes of waste, which represents ca.14 per cent of the total waste in Norway. Most of this consists of materials that are relatively clean, and that can be disposed of or reused without taking special safety considerations. Efforts to reduce waste work well. Never have we produced as little waste as in 2009 at 23.5 kg/m².

The term "waste" is actually misleading. What is left in a building process represents a significant resource for us in Veidekke, and more of it is increasingly recycled. We have strict requirements for source separation in the Group, and work is ongoing with this on our projects. For 2009, Veidekke Norway achieved a total recycling of more than 70 per cent. The biggest challenge lies in source-sorting for new buildings, but we are in a positive trend here (see figure). Hoffmann in Denmark has committed itself to reducing its proportion of waste disposed of from 15 to 5 per cent, and to increasing the share reused to from approx. 2 to 20 per cent.

Veidekke Gjenvinning

Veidekke Gjenvinning sorts cardboard, plastic, wood, plaster, concrete, and metals from industrial waste. Lumber is chipped up, metals are removed for recycling and purified bio-fuels are sold to industrial and remote heating plants in Scandinavia. Figures from Statistics Norway show that in the years between 1995-2007, the total amount of waste in Norway increased by 45 per cent to around 11 million tonnes. The main reason is the large growth in waste from the private sector, which accounts for 80 per cent of total waste. All indications are that the need for recycling services will increase in the future, and in this market Veidekke Gjenvinning and its subsidiaries are well positioned. These companies stand out as good examples of "green business", which is good for the bottom line and the environment.

The downturn in 2009 hand a dramatic impact on the amount of food waste that was received for sorting. Periodically, the cardboard and metal markets have been difficult as a result of reduced reception of raw materials in Asia. In addition, depositing sorted waste drastically changed after the Climate and Pollution Directorate (formerly SFT) introduced a ban on the disposal of organic materials from July 2009. With a lack of adequate incineration capacity in Norway, Veidekke was granted a temporary exemption from the prohibition for some of our residual waste. In Sweden, however, they experienced a substantial reduction in waste for incineration thereby increasing their capacity to accept large amounts of Norwegian waste. During the autumn of 2009, Veidekke Gjenvinning transported a little over ten trucks per day of sorted waste to Sweden, primarily Gothenburg. There has therefore only been the occasional need to deposit organic material.

When this type of waste is used to generate heating as an alternative to heating oil, approx. 60,000 tonnes CO₂ per year are saved. In addition people cut greenhouse gas emissions greatly by not depositing, thereby producing less methane gas which is a very powerful greenhouse gas (about 30 times stronger greenhouse gas than CO₂). Transportation of waste to Sweden causes a discharge of 1,700 tons, or only 3 per cent of the total savings.

Veidekke Gjenvinning and its subisidaries produce, among other things, clean energy chips used for remote heating and biofuel plants in Norway and Sweden, and which replaces the environmental culprit, fuel oils. A good example is Retura Wilhelmsen and Sønner's plant Bånkall in Groruddalen, which is one of the most modern wood recycling facilities. 50 000 tonnes of returned lumber is delivered to the facility every year, from which energy and heating pellets are produced. The overall environmental impact of recovery from Veidekke's waste sorting facility from returned lumber is approx. 150 000 tonnes CO₂ per year distributed over biofuels, waste and unsorted materials like plastic, cardboard and metal.

Veidekke Gjenvinning has its own facilities for receiving and sorting of hazardous waste, which received about 3 million kilograms of chemicals in 2009. This is a slight decrease from 2008. Photo chemicals, paint and varnish residue, used motor oil and car batteries are the largest waste streams, but Veidekke Gjenvinning also receives of a large number of specialty chemical fractions. 56 per cent of this is recycled, 33 per cent is recycled as energy. Around 11 per cent is eventually deposited at special depots for hazardous waste. The total about 1/3 is exported for handling and 2/3 are treated in Norway. Exports outside Scandinavia occur only in exceptional cases. In 2009 we began collaboration with Solør Bioenergy - a company that receives, processes, and recycles treated wood. This type of wood often contains copper, chromium, arsenic and creosote, and is highly toxic to both humans and nature if not treated carefully. Solør Bioenergy is the only plant in Norway capable of recycle these types of materials for energy in an environmentally sound manner.

All Veidekke Gjenvinning subsidiaries are quality management standard ISO 9001 and environmental management standard ISO 14001 certified.