SK Chemical Achieves 'Zero Waste Landfill' Verification... ESG Management Success

Ulsan Green Chemical Plant Achieves 94% Waste Recycling Rate... Obtains UL Verification

SK Chemicals' 'Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL)' Silver Grade Mark. Photo by SK Chemicals

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jung] SK Chemicals is strengthening its sustainable management (ESG) by realizing 'Zero Waste' at its business sites.

SK Chemicals announced on the 24th that its Ulsan Green Chemical Plant received the 'Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL)' Silver rating from UL Solutions, a global leader in applied safety science.

The 'Zero Waste to Landfill certification' is an indicator that evaluates a company's efforts in resource circulation. It is verified by the global certification company UL. Depending on the ratio of business site waste that is utilized as resources without incineration or landfill, Silver (90?94%), Gold (95?99%), and Platinum (100%) grades are awarded.

The Ulsan Green Chemical Plant, which received the Silver rating this time, produces copolyester, recycled plastics, bio polyols, and high-performance coating and adhesive materials, and was recognized for a waste recycling rate of 94%.

SK Chemicals has continuously worked to minimize landfill or incineration of waste generated in the green material production process and maximize the recycling rate. As part of this, it has actively promoted the recycling of by-products generated from sludge at the wastewater treatment plant, incineration ash from waste wood boilers, and copolyester production, raising the overall plant recycling rate from 70% to 94%. This achievement was verified through document reviews and on-site inspections by the verification agency over the past five months, resulting in the acquisition of the ZWTL Silver rating.

Considering that the average waste recycling rate of domestic chemical substances and chemical product manufacturing sites (excluding pharmaceuticals) is about 61% (based on Ministry of Environment statistics), the recycling rate of the Ulsan Green Chemical Plant, which obtained the Silver rating, is about 30% higher than the industry average.

SK Chemicals uses the indicator 'waste generation per unit of production' to measure waste reduction performance in order to fundamentally suppress waste generation at its business sites. In addition, to maximize the waste recycling rate, it plans to classify waste that can be further recycled and discover companies possessing related recycling technologies to increase the recycling rate.

Kim Dongryul, Head of Management Support Office at SK Chemicals Ulsan Plant, said, "The acquisition of the ZWTL Silver rating is the result of various efforts by all members to enable waste to be reused as valuable resources," adding, "We will continue efforts to strengthen environmental management competitiveness and execution capabilities across all ESG (environmental, social, and governance) management activities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.