Holmen endeavors to minimise its quantity of waste and to utilise the highest proportion possible. Waste taxes and landfilling costs necessitate cost-effective management. Waste is separated into categories at all the units. Employees and contractors receive regular training in waste-handling procedures.
The work at our production facilities
All quantities refer to dry-weight.
Iggesund Mill
In 2022, approximately 46 kilo tonnes were disposed for material recycling, of which the main part was for construction materials. 227 kilo tonnes of bark, shavings and wood chips have been used for internal energy recovery in our own biofuel boiler.
Approximately 1.2 kilo tonnes of hazardous waste were generated, the majority of which was oil sludge which was disposed by a third party.
Workington Mill
As far as possible, waste streams are segregated at source. For example, the bark that is removed from incoming roundwood logs is recovered and can be used for energy generation. In the same way, the solid material from the wastewater is recycled and can be used as animal bedding in agriculture.
A local recycling company is contracted to ensure that other types of waste are handled appropriately, whether it is paper waste generated in the offices or used parts from routine plant maintenance activities. Employees are trained in waste handling procedures as part of the mill's environment management system. All waste removed from the site is recorded along with its destination.
Hallsta Paper Mill
Bark from the process is currently mainly sold to external heating plants. This business has been continuously developed since the mill's own boilers were closed.
Sludge arising from the mill's wastewater treatment is composted in-house to produce fibre soil reinforcement. A small proportion of bark is mixed with the sludge, which improves the process. The fibre soil reinforcement is mostly used externally for topsoil.
Braviken Paper Mill
Fibre sludge from the mill's water treatment plant is composted to make fibre soil reinforcement. The soil reinforcement is used as a raw material in soil manufacturing and partly replaces peat in soil production.
Bark from the process and other biofuels are used for energy recovery in Braviken’s solid fuel boiler, which provides the mill and Braviken Sawmill with thermal energy. Some bark and shavings are also sold to external heating plants.
Ash from the combustion of biofuel is used as construction material in creating and maintaining operational areas at Holmen's own landfill site.
Waste arising in operations is sorted and recycled or sent for energy recovery. A very small proportion is sent to landfill.
Sawmills - Braviken, Iggesund, Linghem, Bygdsiljum and Kroksjön
Biofuel from the plants is partly used in solid fuel boilers at Holmen’s plants that produce thermal energy. The remaining volumes are sold to heating plants and pellet manufacturers.
In partnership with local recycling companies, the other waste fractions from the plants have been surveyed and all waste is recycled, disposed of or sent for energy production.
Holmen Forest
The amount of waste arising in Holmen Skog’s operations is minimal. Waste separation is carried out to a large extent. Operations give rise to a very small amount of hazardous waste. In the nurseries, hazardous waste is collected in specially designated locations. Hauliers with permits to handle hazardous waste are hired to dispose of it. Hazardous waste also arises when servicing Holmen Skog’s own forest machinery. This is generally disposed of by the companies that service the equipment.
Holmen Energi
At Holmen Energi, hazardous waste fractions arise at the power plants. Where Holmen Energi handles the transport of waste, we have a permit for this. Otherwise, it is contractors who take care of the transport of hazardous waste to disposal facilities. This hazardous waste is reported to the new waste register run by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
Material use
The environmental impact from the use of input materials is managed by suppliers being assessed based on whether they have a certified environmental management system that ensures that companies have identified their essential environmental parameters, have targets in the environmental area and have a commitment to continuous improvement. With the same aim, we assess our suppliers based on the environmental evaluation in Ecovadis. When it comes to emissions of greenhouse gases from input materials, we follow up on suppliers to see if they have targets that are in line with the Paris Agreement.
Regarding the environmental impact in our own value chain, we separate residual products that are utilized by other companies to create products in a resource-efficient way.
Holmen collaborations to sell discarded fiber from the water treatment in Iggesund. Companies that manufacture soil improvement at our paper mills and energy companies also buy residual heat from our mills in Iggesund and Hallsta.
Four categories of by-products and waste
The by-products and waste that arise in production can be classified into four categories.
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Combustible by-products/waste
Combustible by-products/waste that are mainly to generate thermal energy at the mills or in external heating plants. -
By-products for various uses
Several projects have been carried out in recent years to find alternative uses for the by-products and waste that are produced. Some materials, for example sludge from wastewater treatment plants, can be used as a soil improver after treatment. Incinerator ash has been used as a road-building material and soil improver, and to cap landfills. We collaborate with Renal and Stena metall, among others, to create value from waste streams. -
Waste sent to landfill
As a result of legislation and efforts to find alternative uses, the volume of waste sent to landfill has fallen to the point where, for many years now, it has accounted for less than one percent of the by-products and waste generated by Holmen's operations. -
Hazardous waste
Hazardous waste comprises materials such as waste oils, chemical residues and fluorescent tubes. Hazardous waste is dealt with by an authorised collection and recovery contractor. Certain fractions of the waste are recovered. Other fractions are destroyed under controlled conditions. From 1 November 2020, Holmen’s Swedish units will report hazardous waste to the new waste register run by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Oil-containing waste from docking ships is dealt with at port facilities at some of Holmen mills. The waste is treated as hazardous waste. In our calculations of hazardous waste, we have made an overestimate of the oil's density as we assumed that 1 cubic meter of oil has a density of 0.89 tonnes, but still calculated that 1 cubic meter of oil corresponded to 1 tonne of oil.