Non-mineral waste

Non-mineral waste includes materials that are used in mining and processing such as tyres, oils, refractory lining, ash and domestic rubbish.

We always try to reduce waste generation or re-use and recycle these materials. But sometimes recycling is not an option. So then we burn, store or dispose of the waste in engineered landfills in an environmentally responsible way and always in accordance with local regulations.

How we treat non-mineral waste

Many of our businesses have efficiency targets for non-mineral wastes that are based on our Non-Mineral Waste Standard. This covers both the non-mineral wastes that we generate as well as those we receive at the operation to dispose of or manage on behalf of others.

This standard has helped us to better understand what wastes we generate and the best ways to reduce them and determine the environmental hazards and risks in their safe handling, treatment and disposal. We insist that disposal is only carried out in engineered and approved facilities and use technologies, processes and disposal contractors approved by local regulators and that meet our defined criteria in terms of health, safety and environmental performance.

In addition, we have put in place transport strategies to ensure that all non-mineral waste is handled safely on route to offsite recycling or disposal facilities.

Our results

We produced 288,000 tonnes of non mineral waste in 2007 which was 11 per cent less than in 2006 when we produced 325,000 tonnes. The majority of this decrease was due to reclassification of non-mineral waste to mineral waste at HIsmelt® during 2007.
Aluminium smelters are significant contributors to our non-mineral waste generation. These operations generate specialist wastes produced through the smelting process, including spent cell lining, bath, carbon fines and refractory bricks. In addition, our largest copper producer disposes of significant quantities of non-mineral wastes to landfill and other disposal locations.
In 2007, 61 per cent of our non-mineral waste was generated by ten operations a decrease from 65 per cent generated by ten operations in 2006.
39 per cent of non mineral waste was recycled or reused in 2007, a decrease of six per cent of the material recycled compared with 2006 when 36 per cent of the non mineral waste was recycled or reused.
Seventy three per cent of all non mineral waste disposed of was dealt with on site in 2007 compared to 61 per cent 2006.
Of the non-mineral waste disposed off site in 2007, 89 per cent was placed in landfills a decrease from 2006 when 95 per cent was placed in landfills.

Our operations generated 63,500 tonnes of hazardous non-mineral waste in 2007, an increase of two per cent compared to 2006. The small increase was due to small increases at many sites.
Sixty five per cent of the hazardous non-mineral waste generated in 2007, and 71 per cent in 2006, was from aluminium smelters. Compared with 2006, the amount of hazardous non-mineral waste per tonne of product produced at aluminium smelters has decreased by eight per cent.
At the end of 2007, 34 per cent of hazardous waste generated during the year was placed in storage pending final disposal or recycle/re-use compared to 45 per cent in 2006. Thirty six per cent of hazardous non mineral waste generated in 2007 was recycled or re-used, an increase of 17 per cent compared to 2006.
We require our operations to establish procedures to inspect and monitor off site disposal locations. As at the end of 2007, 65 of the hazardous waste facilities (27% of businesses) had been audited by Rio Tinto in 2006 or 2007.
With an increased exposure to smelting and other downstream packaging activities, the inclusion of Alcan is expected to have a significant impact on our non-mineral waste profile. Alcan operations generated 1.09 million tonnes of non mineral waste in 2007.