306: Effluents and Waste

Disclosure 306-1 Water discharge by quality and destination

 

2014

 

2015

 

2016

 

2017

Total volume of planned and unplanned water discharges (in m m3)

 

13.7

 

13.3

 

13.2

 

12.6

Waster water discharge relative in m3/t production

 

3.6

 

3.63

 

3.23

 

2.75

Clariant uses water for a variety of purposes in the production of chemical products, resulting in the release of wastewater effluents. At each site, production wastewater is first subject to multistage chemical-physical pre-cleaning before being routed to biological wastewater treatment plants, where it is micro-biologically cleaned. Water that is only used for cooling can be directly released into rivers because it is not contaminated. To prevent contamination of the intake water through undetected leaks in the cooling system, the cooling water and rainwater are constantly analyzed at the individual sites as an additional safety measure. If contamination is discovered, discharge into the rivers (or other receiving waters) is prevented by various containment systems present on-site.

The absolute and relative quantity of water used (in relation to production) has declined from 2014 to 2017. The amount of total wastewater in 2017 was 12.6 million m3 or 2.75 m3 per manufactured ton of production compared to 13.7 million m3 or 3.60 m3 per t in 2014.

Clariant has reduced the chemical oxygen demand (COD) - the measurement of the degree of wastewater burdened with organic substances - in all the wastewater treatment plants by ~25% from 2014 to 2017. Consequently, the fees and production costs were reduced.

Only small amounts of heavy metals remain in the wastewater at Clariant’s individual sites. The values are partly based on the concentrations that are at or below the detection limit. The wastewater discharged by Clariant is largely cleaned and does not affect the quality of the receiving water. Thus, Clariant has achieved very high standards in wastewater treatment and water purification within a very short period.

For 2017, Clariant recorded three spills which is considered significant under the definition of ICCA, category 2.

Disclosures 306-2 Waste by type and disposal method, 306-4 Transport of hazardous waste, 306-5 Water bodies affected by water discharges and/or runoff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in thousand t

 

2014

 

2015

 

2016

 

2017

1

Waste from Clariant activities

2

The listed treatment and disposal channels also contain waste from other producers but managed by Clariant

Total weight of hazardous waste, with a breakdown by the following disposal methods where applicable:1

 

55

 

59

 

54

 

56

Recycling2

 

19

 

18

 

20

 

23

Landfill2

 

8

 

6

 

10

 

7

Treatment2

 

36

 

47

 

39

 

41

Total weight of non-hazardous waste, with a breakdown by the following disposal methods where applicable:1

 

113

 

92

 

92

 

142

Recycling2

 

26

 

18

 

17

 

27

Landfill2

 

81

 

68

 

69

 

107

Treatment2

 

12

 

8

 

7

 

9

Total waste1

 

168

 

151

 

147

 

198

At Clariant, the prevention of waste takes priority over recycling or disposal. Therefore, every effort is made during the development and manufacturing of products to ensure that as little waste is generated as possible. Unavoidable production waste is recycled or disposed of properly. Each type of waste is recorded and precisely analyzed and described. Proper disposal must be proven and documented in internal records. It is important to know from which plant the waste originates, which amounts accrue during what period, what properties the waste components have, whether the waste can be classified as hazardous, and how it can be recycled or disposed.

Disclosure 306-3 Significant spills

 

2012

 

2013

 

2014

 

2015

 

2016

 

2017

Process safety event rate

 

0.4

 

0.25

 

0.22

 

0.26

 

0.21

 

0.35

The safety of people and the environment is the highest priority for chemical companies. One indispensable factor is an effective safety management system that can also identify, assess, and control risks in the production process using appropriate measures, so as to reduce or even entirely avoid these risks. For this reason, Clariant, in close cooperation with the European Process Safety Centre (EPSC), has actively supported the development of a simple and representative measurement system, also with the aim of establishing an industry-wide standard.

This system records and systematically assesses smaller substance and energy releases in order to avoid major incidents. These incidents, or PSEs (process safety events), are categorized according to criteria stipulated by the European Chemical Association (Conseil Européen des Fédérations de l’Industrie Chimique, Cefic) and the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA). They are a component of the ongoing improvement procedures for the process safety of the production systems. In 2017, the process safety event rate at Clariant increased from 0.21 to 0.35. Due to the change in our PSE reporting criteria starting in 2018, many trainings and webinars have been carried out which have impacted the reporting culture, increasing the total number of reports in 2017. We expect that this trend will continue in the following years. This rate denotes the number of incidents per 200,000 working hours.