Waste control

If as a society, we don’t do something useful with our waste, we will soon be literally up to our necks in the problem. Fortunately, more and more waste is put to good use and less and less ends up at the rubbish dump. Imtech aims to fully commit itself to the responsible disposal of waste, working from the idea that everything can be recycled and there is therefore no such thing as true waste.

To give shape to this ambition, throughout the entire process of sourcing, use and disposal, Imtech takes the next life into account of the products and materials it uses.

Imtech’s first priority is to avoid waste. Imtech’s waste stream is dominated by paper and carton (14%), construction and demolition waste (also 14%) and scrap (8%). Within its offices, the company consequently focuses its waste control measures on reducing paper consumption. In 2010, the working committee ‘No time to waste’ calculated that with a number of targeted interventions, the Dutch offices alone can save 64 pallets of paper per year. In terms of the size of one’s carbon footprint this equals more than 1 ha of forest per year.

Waste is energy

The waste that cannot be avoided will be recycled as much as possible to provide new raw materials, and what is left over at that point will be used to generate sustainable energy. Imtech will subsequently buy this energy in order to fulfil part of the company’s green energy requirement. This way, every year, Imtech can convert its own waste into some 10 mwh of electricity for its offices.