Material recovery

Indaver is actively involved in sustainable material management, running a wide range of recycling operations. Furthermore, we employ as variety of methods to recover as much material as possible during thermal treatment.

Sustainable recycling

Indaver’s sorting, purification and recycling facilities always aim to realise the highest possible quality in the recovered materials:

• Our site in Grimbergen processes biowaste to produce high-grade compost and biomass. The biowaste consists primarily of prunings, roadside grass cuttings, tree trunks and green waste from contractors, growers, gardeners and local authorities. The compost is used as soil improver in agriculture and horticulture.
• Indaver is responsible for sorting and purifying 20% of the PMD (plastic bottles and packaging, metals and drinks cartons) collected in Belgium. Our facilities carefully sort plastic bottles, metal packaging and drinks cartons for further treatment.
• At the Milieupark in Willebroek, Indaver collects paper and cardboard from companies and authorities. We distinguish over 60 different quality grades, so the composition of recycled paper can be produced to order.
• At Willebroek, Indaver processes all types of packaging foil, construction foil and agricultural foil. It is sorted by grade and pre-treated for recycling.
• Indaver recycles thirty million mercury-containing lamps per year. We recover up to 95% of the material, mainly glass and metals, and remove the hazardous substances in strictly controlled conditions.
• In Antwerp Indaver has a facility for recovering polluted solvents or thinners. The facility has capacity for 8,000 tonnes of solvents a year. The solvents are suitable for re-use after treatment.

Recovery of materials

We also see it as our duty to recover as many materials as possible during thermal treatment.

• Ash treatment processes the incinerator ash from the grate incinerators to obtain various end products for the building industry. Of the total volume of waste treated in grate incinerators, less than 3% is sent to landfill.
• In the fluidising bed facilities the metal fraction is removed and cleaned in advance in order to be re-used.
• Slag treatment removes iron from the bottom ash originating from the rotary kiln incinerators resulting in a high-grade metal fraction for recycling.