Waste and recycling

Developments in the volume of waste

in thousand tonnes

HHLA reduces refuse and separates rubbish for recycling wherever possible so that reusable waste can be fed back into the resource cycle. The amount and composition of waste can vary significantly over time. Excluding soil and building rubble, the amount of waste produced at the sites in Germany increased year-on-year by 14.9 % to 9,221 tonnes in the reporting period (previous year: 8,023 tonnes). Within the overall waste total, hazardous waste decreased by 21.0 % to 1,895 tonnes (previous year: 2,398 tonnes). This decrease is primarily due to the return to service of a water treatment plant for cleaning large-scale equipment at the Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB), which resulted in a decrease in the quantity of sludge from oil/water separators. At 3,373 tonnes or 36.6 % of total waste, the largest proportion of waste during the reporting year was attributable to fruit and food waste such as bananas, pineapples and potatoes, which increased by 183 % compared to 2017. HHLA has no influence on the amount of such waste, as it usually includes goods that were already unfit for consumption when they reached Hamburg. A large proportion (1,950 tonnes) was recycled to generate biogas. Approximately 350,000 kWh of electricity were generated without CO₂ in this way in 2018. Despite a 27.6 % decrease, commercial waste for recovery and mixed packaging accounted for the second-largest quantity of refuse, making up 11.9 %, or 1,097 tonnes. Sludge from oil/water separators, which is mainly produced when large-scale machinery is cleaned, was the third-biggest type of waste with a share of 11.6 %. The amount of scrap metal for full recycling decreased by 9.7 % to 1,057 tonnes in the reporting period. Paper and cardboard packaging rose by 39.5 % to 799 tonnes, while there was a moderate increase of 18.4 % in scrap wood and building timber to 415 tonnes.

HHLA’s efforts to conserve resources at its terminals were also reflected in the use of a total of 21,310 tonnes (previous year: 18,881 tonnes) of recycled building materials to maintain its terminal areas during 2018. At 9,765 tonnes, the majority of this was asphalt recycling. 8,610 tonnes of slag from waste incineration plants was used for the sustainable resurfacing of the Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA). A further 1,600 tonnes of electric furnace slag was used during the renovation of the container rail terminal at the Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB). Electric furnace slag is produced when steel scrap and mineral additives are melted in electric arc furnaces. It is reused as aggregate at the terminal sites. 1,335 tonnes of slag from waste incineration plants bonded with cement were also used during the renovation of the CTB rail terminal.