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
Copel’s main sources of waste generation are the implementation, operation and maintenance and deactivation 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.
The operation and maintenance of projects generates plant waste from tree pruning under energy distribution and transmission networks, waste materials and replaced electrical and electronic equipment, such as batteries, meters, insulators, transformers, voltage regulators, circuit breakers and others. electrical equipment, metal scraps, cables, poles and crosses. Solid and liquid waste contaminated with oil and solvents is also generated from equipment maintenance.
Copel’s projects have Solid Waste Management Plans (PGRS), which consider both applicable legislation, the Company’s general guidelines and the specificities of each unit, guiding the correct management of its waste.
Waste generated in civil works and maintenance is managed by the contracted company responsible for execution. In these cases, Copel requires the presentation and approval of the Civil Construction Waste Management Plan (PGRCC) and, at the end of the work, the presentation of the Management Report (RFGRCC), proving the execution of the plan and compiling the environmental licenses, transport manifests and final destination certificates.
The deactivation of projects is responsible for the generation of the most varied types of waste, such as electrical equipment, conductor cables, poles and crosses, metal scrap, among others.
Administrative activities generate urban solid waste, such as recyclable waste (paper, plastic, glass and metals), organic waste and waste (food waste, gardening and sweeping waste, sanitary waste) and hazardous waste (batteries, fluorescent lamps , cartridges and printer toner), which are destined 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 disposal of waste generated by the Company is carried out 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 transforming solid waste, involving the change of its physical, physicochemical or biological properties, 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 allows the reduction of raw material consumption and the generation of value.
Recyclable waste, generated in the Company’s administrative activities, is sent to associations of recyclable material collectors that participate in Solidarity Selective Collection, generating income for these entities and their participants.
The cleaning teams that work in the Company’s buildings undergo training so that waste segregation is carried out correctly and employees are instructed on the correct separation of waste in collectors identified in accordance with CONAMA Resolution No. 275/2001.
The recyclable waste generated in operational activities is sent to companies specialized in recycling, being 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 and insulating oils, is sold through public notices, to companies that prove technical qualification and environmental licensing for environmentally appropriate final disposal.
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 process of transforming organic waste, such as food scraps and garden waste, into nutrient-rich compost (fertilizer).
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.
It consists of the energy use of solid waste by burning it in clinker production furnaces in the cement industry.
The maintenance activities of plants and substations generate class I waste – considered dangerous, most of which have a composition and calorific potential for disposal through the co-processing technique.
This waste is collected by companies hired especially for this purpose and is sent to clinker production furnaces, in the production of cement, thus taking advantage of the energy contained in these materials and providing enormous environmental gains.
Copel prioritizes the use of waste generated, through reuse, recycling and other treatment and final disposal techniques. When there are no operationally and economically viable alternatives, final disposal is carried out in 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 |
|
