The corporate procedure for waste[!] disposal and recycling[!] forms the basis for Telenor's treatment of waste. It follows national objectives and principles with regard to waste, and attaches great importance to waste reduction[!], separation at source and recycling.
The following priorities apply with regard to the handling of waste in Telenor:
- Waste reduction/minimisation
- Proper handling of special waste
- Re-use of useable articles and equipment
- Recycling (material recycling before energy recycling)
- Proper handling of residual waste
In general, cost-effectiveness and the principle of prevention at source form the basis of assessments and the choice of solutions with regard to waste disposal.
Arrangements shall be made for separation of waste at source in all Telenor's buildings. Registration of waste amounts performed under the auspices of Telenor Eiendom enables separation into the following fractions:
- Cardboard/paper
- Plastic
- Organic waste
- Metals
- Building waste
- Residual waste
In addition, figures for the amount of hazardous waste[!] and EE waste (discarded electrical and electronic appliances) are recorded.
Waste volumes
A system has been developed for collating data on waste in connection with Telenor's business activities, but the considerable variation in collection methods for the various waste fractions still leads to problems, making it difficult to create an arrangement for consistent separation at source. The total volume of waste reported in 2000 was approximately 2 750 tonnes, corresponding to approximately 134 kg per employee and 4.4 kg per square metre of building. However, a considerable amount of waste has not been included in these records, for example in a number of buildings where Telenor rents premises.
Hazardous waste
According to the national regulations on hazardous waste, hazardous waste is defined as "waste which cannot be handled practically together with consumer waste because it can lead to serious pollution or risk of injury to people or animals".
All hazardous waste is delivered to approved collection points for shipment to appropriate destruction sites. Hazardous waste is labelled and detailed information is collected in a common database. The table below presents a summary of hazardous waste delivered by Telenor in 2000.
| Main group hazardous waste |
Type of hazardous waste |
Amount collected (kg) |
| Oily waste |
Used oil |
3015 |
| Used oil, no reimbursement rights |
1685 |
| Oil and grease waste, oil filters |
940 |
| Material contaminated with oil |
28927 |
| Fuel and fuel oil |
51 |
| Inorganic compounds |
Cadmium batteries |
28 |
| Small batteries/lithium batteries |
87 |
| Acids, inorganic |
232 |
| Organic compounds |
Organic solvents without halogens |
1289 |
| Miscellaneous hazardous waste |
Paints, adhesives, varnishes, hardeners, aerosol cans |
903 |
| Fluorescent lamps |
294 |
| Cleaning agents |
30 |
| Total amount of hazardous waste |
|
37481 |
Co-operation with waste recycling companies
According to the national regulations regarding discarded EE products which came into force on 1 July 1999, importers and manufacturers of such equipment are responsible for the collection and appropriate handling of EE waste.
In order to fulfil our obligations with regard to the regulations, Telenor has entered into an agreement regarding corporate membership of the waste treatment companies Elektronikkretur AS and RENAS[!] AS. Telenor companies which import equipment which is subject to the regulations must also have individual membership of these companies' schemes.
Information obligation
All dealers and importers must inform their customers about the system for return and recycling of EE waste. Additional attention will be focused on this in the coming year.
Elektronikkretur AS is responsible for telecommunications and computing equipment, consumer electronics, private branch exchanges, medical equipment, electrical and electronic games, alarms and smoke detectors, etc.
Elektronikkretur has entered into an agreement with transport companies which collect EE waste from about 8 000 shops and businesses throughout the country, and deliver this waste to central treatment plants.
RENAS AS is a recycling company for commercial electrical and electronic equipment, and is responsible for cables and wires, installation materials, high and low voltage equipment, lamps and light fittings, motors and starting apparatus, heating/ventilation equipment and pumps, instruments, tools, etc.
RENAS has built up a network of 71 collection points for EE waste. All Telenor companies can deliver their EE waste to these collection points free of charge.
Materialretur AS
In the past year, several Telenor companies have co-operated with Materialretur AS in connection with the requirements placed on Telenor's sub-contractors regarding obligatory arrangements for the return of packaging materials.
Only those companies which themselves import or pack products are required to be members of Materialretur's arrangement, which means that there are very few Telenor companies which need to take part. For example, not even Telehuset needs to be a member, since all the goods which it sells are imported by other companies. However, companies which import products themselves must be members of the Materialretur scheme and ensure that they pay the appropriate fee for the types of packaging which they use.
At the same time it is important that we begin to require of our suppliers that they are members of Materialretur and that they also pay the fees which they are obliged to pay.
Inverse AS (Investment Recovery[!] Services - hereinafter referred to as Inverse AS) has evolved from the former Telenor Miljø AS, which was a wholly-owned Telenor company. Inverse AS is now owned by Telenor, Norsk Hydro, Veidekke and DnB.
Norwegian trade and industry in general, including the owners of Inverse AS, owns significant amounts of excess material, of which a great deal is high quality equipment and represents significant assets both for sellers and potential buyers. By establishing an extensive and professional brokerage service, Inverse AS will contribute to generating added value both for sellers and buyers. Amongst other things, Inverse AS offers:
- Brokerage of equipment and materials to the professional second-hand and recycling market, prioritising the fields of telecommunications, computers, construction, offshore and other industry.
- Sale of database access
Access to databases will be offered to sellers of equipment via subscription arrangements. It will also be possible to offer paid consultancy services in connection with this service.
Inverse AS bases its activities on the extensive use of modern database and Internet technology - a particularly interesting field for Telenor.
Environmental performance indicators - waste
The table below presents an overview of the results for 1998, 1999 and 2000 with regard to the environmental indicators adopted for waste. The figures are based on reports by Telenor Eiendom, which is responsible for the management of the majority of Telenor's buildings. However, not all waste generated by Telenor's activities is included in these figures, and we intend to continue work to obtain more complete figures for waste in the future, so that we can have as correct a picture of Telenor's waste production as possible.
| Year |
Waste volumes |
Amount of sorted waste |
Amount of cardboard/paper |
Degree of sorting |
total
tonnes |
per man-year
kg per man-year |
per m2 floor space
kg |
total
tonnes |
per man-year
kg per man-year |
total
tonnes |
per man-year
kg per man-year |
(%) |
| 1998 |
4000 |
200 |
3,5 |
1420 |
69 |
- |
- |
- |
| 1999 |
3400 |
180 |
6,3 |
1763 |
86 |
1102 |
59 |
53 |
| 2000 |
2750 |
134 |
4,4 |
1542 |
75 |
725 |
35 |
57 |
Comments:
We do not wish to draw any special conclusions regarding waste amounts since the underlying figures are too unreliable. Residual waste is either sent to incinerator facilities for energy recycling or to landfills. The aim is to reduce the amount of residual waste as much as possible.
