Limiting and Re-using Waste

Residual materials from power stations

Residual materials are a by-product of the power stations where coal is burned or gasified (Hemweg 8 and Willem-Alexander). Part of this can be re-used as raw materials for other products. The sulphur from coal, for instance, is captured during the combustion process at the Hemweg power station and then chemically converted into plaster for re-use in the building industry. At the Willem-Alexander power station, sulphur compounds are reduced to elementary sulphur which serves as a raw material in the chemical industry. Fly ash and bottom ash are used in e.g. the cement industry and road-building sector.

Industrial waste

In line with the objectives of ISO 14001, Network Services wants to reduce the volume of industrial waste by collecting and separating this waste into recyclable fractions at source and then transporting these to external processors. This will further increase the volume of materials that can be recycled, thus not only reducing waste but also saving costs as recyclable residual materials are worth money. Nuon has a Residual and Waste Materials Centre (RAC) to coordinate the management of residual and waste materials for Network Services and the office locations serviced by Facility Management. Waste from energy production and (foreign) subsidiaries falls outside the scope of the RAC.

The industrial waste from the power stations decreased strongly. In 2006 major maintenance work on the power stations led to a strong increase in the amount of waste as a result of demolition and replacement. This explains the strong decrease in the amount of waste from the power stations in 2007.