Vestas by the numbers
Better waste management
The volume of waste, including the volume of waste sent to recycling, is considered a key indicator of how Vestas affects the environment. Vestas endeavours not to generate any waste. The volume of waste should be viewed relative to the production and delivery of turbines.
The infrastructure for recycling Vestas' waste, which consists primarily of sand, metals, wood, paper, oil, plastic and composites, has not been developed to the same level in all countries in which Vestas operates.
The recycling of composites used in the blades represents the final, huge challenge. About half of Vestas' waste measured in tonnes is sand from the moulding processes. All sand used in the production is reused a number of times before it finally ends up as waste.
In 2012, the volume of waste was reduced by 2 per cent compared to 2011. However, indexed in comparison with MW produced and shipped in 2012, Vestas reduced its volume of waste by 20 per cent compared to 2011. The decrease is mainly due to less scrap waste due to improved production process from the machining factory in Lem, Denmark, and less production at the tower factory in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. The decrease is also the main driver behind the decrease in recycled waste.
51 per cent of the total volume of waste was recycled in 2012, against 54 per cent the year before. The decrease in the percentage of waste for recycling was primarily due to the landfill disposal of a proportion of the casting sand at Vestas' foundry in Guldsmedshyttan, Sweden.
On average over the last four quarters, Vestas facilities worldwide succeeded in producing 9.4 percent less waste per wind turbine than they did on average the previous quarter.
Vestas facilities worldwide also produced an average of 11.4 percent more hazardous waste per wind turbine over the last four quarters compared with the previous quarter's average.
Vestas facilities worldwide succeeded in recycling more waste on average over the last four quarters. Worldwide, the company recycled 50.6 percent of its waste, up from 49.1 percent on average the previous quarter
A note about the numbers: In most cases, the numbers presented here are based on either annual or four-quarter rolling averages. For example, the total displayed for the second quarter of 2010 actually represents an average of that quarter and the three quarters before it. This is done to smooth out seasonal variations in production and supply, to more accurately show trends in resource use at Vestas. Injuries and employment information are the only aspects not calculated on a rolling basis.