Waste Management
Copel has a waste management process that aims to promote the correct management of solid waste, from generation to final destination; prevent negative environmental impacts and maximize positive ones, which makes it possible to meet both legal requirements and the conditions of environmental licenses.
As established by the National Solid Waste Policy, the Company has a Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) for its projects, thus shaping macro policies for the specifics of each location. Management related to solid waste involves periodically reviewing legal requirements and environmental conditions, identifying good practices and opportunities in the sector, planning activities, verifying compliance and constantly improving the process.
Copel adopts the 4 R principle for managing its waste, provided for in an internal standard for corporate waste management, implemented in 2009, which establishes that “all employees, when carrying out their activities at Copel, must adopt the consumption consciously practicing the concept of the ‘4 R´s’: rethink, reduce, reuse and recycle”. The Solid Waste Management Manual provides practical guidance on how the concepts of the 4 R’s can be applied.
Aiming to consolidate the waste management culture, workshops and training are held for teams, highlighting the guidelines of the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), possible negative environmental impacts and benefits with proper waste management, thus creating space for dialogue, clarification of possible doubts and increased awareness and employee engagement on sustainable practices and encouragement to reduce waste generation, which are in addition to the Company’s ESG practices.
The amount of waste generated is periodically monitored through control systems. These residues are stored in specific locations until they are disposed of.
For the destination of recyclable administrative waste, priority is given to delivery to associations of recyclable material collectors, through Solidarity Selective Collection, while for organic material, the priority is composting.
Solid Waste Management Manual
Manual for Transporting Hazardous Substances
Waste Generation
At Copel, the main sources of waste generation are the implementation, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of projects.
When implementing new projects, civil construction waste is generated, such as soil removed from the installation sites of structures, wood from the packaging of materials and equipment, other recyclable waste, such as plastics, paper and cardboard and metals, as well as paint and waste. solvents.
During the operation and maintenance of projects, different types of waste are generated, such as: vegetable waste from pruning trees under power distribution and transmission networks, waste from replaced electrical and electronic materials and equipment, such as batteries, meters, insulators, transformers, voltage regulators, circuit breakers, and other electrical equipment, scrap metal, cables, poles, and crossarms. In addition to these, contaminated solid and liquid waste is generated from equipment maintenance.
Copel’s projects have Solid Waste Management Plans (PGRS), which take into account both current legislation and standards, as well as the Company’s general guidelines and the specificities of each unit. The plans guide the correct management of their waste.
Waste generated in civil works and maintenance is managed by the contractor responsible for the execution. In such cases, Copel requires the contractor to submit and approve a Civil Construction Waste Management Plan (PGRCC) and, upon completion of the work, the company must submit a Management Report (RFGRCC), proving the execution of the proposed plan and compiling environmental licenses, transport manifests, and final destination certificates.
When projects are decommissioned, a wide variety of waste is generated, such as electrical equipment, conductive cables, poles and crossarms, scrap metal, among others.
Administrative activities generate municipal solid waste, such as recyclable waste (paper, plastic, glass, and metals), organic waste and refuse (food scraps, gardening and sweeping waste, sanitary waste) and hazardous waste (batteries, fluorescent lamps, printer cartridges and toner), which are disposed of through composting, contracting or municipal collection, and recyclable waste, which is donated primarily to recycling cooperatives through the Solidary Selective Collection program.
Waste Destination
The Company manages solid waste in accordance with the National Solid Waste Policy, observing the order of priority: non-generation, reduction, reuse, recycling, treatment of solid waste and, if there are no alternatives, environmentally appropriate final disposal.
For waste that presents some characteristic that represents a risk to public health and the environment, final disposal is carried out by contracted companies that demonstrate technical qualifications and environmental licensing.
The table below presents the main waste generated in operational activities and the final disposal methods adopted.
Type of waste | Destination method |
Paper, plastic, glass, metal scraps, batteries, electrical and electronic equipment, concrete poles and crosses, transformers and other network equipment | Recycling |
Contaminated waste | Coprocessing and/or landfill for Class I waste
|
Waste contaminated with PCBs | Decontamination and/or Incineration |
Pruning Waste | Composting and/or landfilling for Class II waste |
Recycling is the process of altering the physical, physical-chemical, or biological properties of solid waste with a view to transforming it into inputs or new products.
Copel’s solid waste recycling is aligned with the principles of sustainable development, as it reduces the consumption of raw materials and generates value.
Recyclable waste generated by the Company’s administrative activities is sent to associations of recyclable material collectors that participate in the Selective Solidarity Collection program, generating income for these entities and their participants.
At the Company’s facilities, cleaning teams receive training so that waste segregation is carried out correctly, and employees are instructed on the correct way to separate and store waste in containers identified in accordance with CONAMA Resolution No. 275/2001.
Recyclable waste generated in operational activities is sent to companies specializing in recycling, where it is reused in other production processes, generating value for these companies and for Copel.
At Copel, waste that has commercial value, such as scrap metal, batteries, equipment removed from operation, used lubricating oils, and insulating materials, is sold to companies that can prove they have the technical qualifications and environmental licensing to dispose of it in an environmentally appropriate manner.
This process aims to dispose of waste that has added economic value, returning to the production chain, through recycling and reuse of materials.
Composting is the biological transformation of organic waste, such as food scraps and garden waste, carried out under aerobic conditions by a diverse set of organisms, resulting in a nutrient-rich compost (fertilizer).
Composting represents an alternative to the disposal of organic waste, which can be reused, and is a technique that fits into the concept of sustainable environmental development.
In some Copel facilities, organic material produced in cafeterias and offices is primarily directed to composting techniques, through which the waste is managed and used as fertilizer (compost) in the production of seedlings and fertilization of flower beds and gardens.
Vegetable residues from tree pruning activities under the energy distribution network, when viable, are sent for external composting.
This technology involves the use of pre-processed waste (BLEND) as a substitute for fuels and/or non-renewable raw materials used in cement production in duly licensed factories.
The maintenance activities at power plants and substations generate Class I waste—classified as hazardous—most of which has the composition and calorific potential for disposal through co-processing.
The waste is collected by companies contracted specifically for this purpose and sent to clinker production furnaces in cement production, thus harnessing the energy contained in these materials and providing enormous environmental gains.
According to the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), environmentally appropriate final disposal consists of the orderly distribution of waste in landfills, observing specific operational standards in order to avoid damage or risks to public health and safety and to minimize adverse environmental impacts.
Copel prioritizes the use of waste generated, through reuse, recycling and other treatment and final disposal techniques. However, when there are no possibilities for treatment and recovery through available and economically viable technological processes, final disposal is carried out in duly licensed industrial landfills.
Waste Management Indicators and Targets
With the aim of reducing the environmental impact of its activities, Copel has specific indicators and targets for the appropriate disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated in the Company’s operational and administrative activities.
Indicators
Waste Disposal Rate of Operational Units: represents the total waste that is diverted from final disposal, followed by recycling, co-processing, composting and disposal, and is aligned with the goals for achieving SDGs 03, 06, 11, 12 and 13 .
Disposal rate of hazardous waste generated: represents the maximum percentage of hazardous waste disposal in relation to the total generated.
Targets
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||
Indicator | Target | Performance | Target | Performance | Target | Performance |
Waste Disposal Rate (%) | 76 | 63.40 | 79 |
| 82 |
|
Hazardous Waste Disposal Rate (%) | 5 | 0.9 | 5 |
| 5 |
|
