Almost 98% of the total waste produced at our manufacturing sites was either recycled or recovered in 2022 – and 55% of Electrolux Group factories are now “Zero Waste to Landfill” certified – moving us toward our target of certifying all manufacturing sites by 2025.
When an Electrolux Group factory is third-party certified to the Zero Waste to Landfill program, it means that it sends less than 1% of its total waste to landfill and less than 3% for waste to energy.
“We reduced the percentage of waste sent to landfill by 20% in 2022 compared with the previous year, which is an amazing result,” says Claudia Mazzon, Electrolux Group Operations Sustainability Specialist and global coordinator of the Zero Waste to Landfill program. “I am so proud of the great job done by our colleagues around the world who are proactively working to reduce waste and find recycling opportunities.”
During 2022, seven additional Electrolux Group factories were certified to the Zero Waste to Landfill program. They are:
- Santiago, Chile
- Zarow, Poland
- Forlì, Italy
- Cairo Delta, Egypt
- Juarez Fabric Care and Stamping, Mexico
- Kinston, United States
- Swidnica, Poland
The countries that now have at least one Electrolux Group factory certified are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Italy, Mexico, Poland and the United States.
Waste management highlights
Adelaide, Australia — After identifying waste enamel powder as a major source of waste to landfill from the factory, the team created a solution to incorporate a proportion of waste powder into the enamel powder mix. The solution avoids sending approximately six metric tons of waste enamel powder to landfill each year and was a key step to certifying the factory to the Zero Waste to Landfill program.
Phasing out single-use domestic plastic — A program to eliminate domestic types of single-use plastics from our operations sites in Europe was launched in 2019, anticipating the European Union directive on single-use plastic elimination. This allows Electrolux Group’s European sites to save more than 20 metric tons of plastics every year, raise awareness among employees and promote sustainable behavior. The program has since spread to Electrolux Group factories around the world.
Juarez Fabric Care, Mexico — The team dealt with some challenging waste streams when preparing for the Zero Landfill certification audit, including wet silica sand. They found a way to use waste heat to dry the sand and reuse it in the process and partnered with a cement company to recycle the remaining waste. This initiative avoids sending more than 25 metric tons of waste to landfill each year.
Guabirotuba Plant, Curitiba, Brazil— The team struggled to find an alternative use for sealing rubber and polyurethane waste other than waste-to-energy. After thorough research and trials, they partnered with a supplier to transform the waste rubber into carpets, which have also been used at the plant. Additionally, they found a supplier to reuse polyurethane waste for door and panel insulation – to help reduce the use of virgin resources. These initiatives annually recycle approximately 100 metric tons of waste instead of sending it for waste-to-energy.
Learn more about resource efficiency in Electrolux Group operations, including waste management, here.
