2020 Sustainability Report

54 Ecology Bützberg site Wood waste remained stable during the reporting period, accounting for 77% of total waste. This wood waste meets more than 90% of the heating energy requirement for the entire Bützberg site. Non-reusable waste reached a peak in 2019 due to a remanufacturing project. We refur- bished the theatre seats for one of our customers and fitted them with new seat pads. We disposed of the resulting old seat pads (approximately 10 tons) correctly via an authorised recycling partner. We had no similar projects in 2020 and the volume of non-recyclable waste fell back to the level of earlier years. In terms of recyclable waste, we were able to put a stop to the steady increase in card- board waste by optimising packaging, in partnership with our subsidiary Boreal. The volume of waste in 2020 was more or less the same as before deliveries from Boreal began. There was also a peak in metal waste in 2019 because of the disposal of old wood-processing machinery. During this reporting period, the ban on importing plastic waste that was imposed by a number of Asian countries, primarily China, meant that the market for this kind of waste collapsed. Although our specialist disposal company is continuing to accept plastic film that we have collected separately, and processes it separately, it charges for the film as non-recyclable waste and no longer categorises it separately. Consequently, for 2019 and 2020 almost all our plastic film waste is not included in the reusable waste but in non-recyclable waste. We are in talks with our disposal company about going back to categorising plastic film as a separate item. We aim to keep the proportion of reusable waste up to at least 88% over the course of the next reporting period. Endingen site Waste wood, primarily in the form of one-way pallets and transport fixings, has been recycled into chipboard since 2016. Single-use wooden trestles have been replaced by steel trestles for transporting leather. These now shuttle between Endingen and our leather suppliers. Our waste management concept has enabled us to stabilise the proportion of recyclable waste such as cardboard, paper, glass, electrical items, metal, film, leather offcuts, wood, and polystyrene waste at over 84%. We intend to maintain at least this level in the next reporting period. Fabric remnants still have to be incinerated as there appears to be no economically viable and eco-friendly recycling solution at present. Operational waste, disposal Overview of operational waste Recyclable waste Types of waste Girsberger AG Bützberg Waste wood recycled as heat Tonnes Waste for incineration Tonnes Recyclable waste Tonnes Hazardous waste Tonnes Girsberger GmbH Endingen Recyclable wood Tonnes Waste for incineration Tonnes Recyclable waste Tonnes Share recyclable Bützberg Share recyclable Endingen 2020 257.6 34.6 24.6 0 6.9 21.6 111.2 89.1% 83.7% 2019 262.0 48.7 44.4 2.1 5.9 21.1 114.5 86.3% 84.4% 2018 268.6 39.3 35.4 0 7.8 23.6 124.1 88.5% 84.0% 2017 255.8 38.9 54.3 2.0 4.6 24.0 116.4 88.4% 82.9% 2016 223.2 29.9 39.5 1.0 8.2 27.3 129.3 89.5% 82.6%