By-product management

Ash

Our main by-product is ash from burning coal. It is inert and ideal for use in the construction industry either as a filler / landscaping agent, or as the main constituent of lightweight bricks.

Although the sale of ash is driven by the construction industry's need and is, to some extent, opportunistic from our point of view, we make every effort to produce ash of a quality that is attractive as a by-product and substitute raw material. We have invested heavily in technology that ensures ash quality is consistent and in processes that classify ash for different markets.

Ash that is not sold is landfilled with a view of reclaiming it if opportunities to sell it are identified.

Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) and Furnace Bottom Ash (FBA) are only produced at coal-fired power stations. In our case, this is now only Kingsnorth, Ratcliffe-on-Soar (and Ironbridge) power stations. Over recent years, production has decreased because of reduced generation and the sale of other coal-fired power stations, though PFA sales have increased significantly.

INDICATOR: UK Ash Produced

INDICATOR: UK Ash Sales

Gypsum

Gypsum is a by-product of the Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) process at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station. In 2002, 363 kt of gypsum was produced, all of which was sold on for manufacture of gypsum-based products. This gypsum acts as a substitute for virgin gypsum which would normally be mined, hence contributing to reducing natural resource use.

Waste management

All businesses generate waste, from their processes and the everyday activities of their employees. The responsible management of waste is a key element of sustainable development. An environmentally responsible company aims to minimise its waste production, and reuses or recycles as much as possible of that which is produced, thus improving efficiency, cutting resource use and pollution, as well as minimising costs.

Wastes produced by our activities are many and varied, ranging from wastes from power station processes, such as used lubricating oils, to general maintenance wastes from our network activities, to office wastes such as paper and redundant IT equipment.

In a similar way to the management of resources used by us, the management of waste is of paramount importance to our economic bottom line, as well as our impact on the environment.

It is a strict requirement in our environmental minimum standards that each business unit must have in place an effective waste management plan. All plans follow the standard waste hierarchy:

• Reduce use of materials where possible;

• Re-use where possible;

• Recover or recycle anything else;

• Dispose of the remaining waste in a responsible way, complying with the relevant legislation.

Waste management is a highly complex and heavily legislated area. All producers and handlers of waste are under a 'Duty of Care' to take reasonable measures to prevent the unauthorised deposit, treatment or disposal of waste. Failure to do so is an offence.

The UK Government has also implemented an economic instrument in the form of a tax on the amount of waste sent to landfill, to help reduce the overall amount of waste disposed of nationally, and to increase waste minimisation, recycling and re-use. Those operating landfill sites may claim approximately 20% of their tax burden back and use that money for environmental projects. (The landfill sites operated by us are for surplus ash that cannot be sold for us in the construction industry, as described above.) These projects are discussed in the Community Section of this Report.

All of our office sites, including those offices on generation sites, are included in waste management plans, and as such have various waste minimisation and recycling schemes.

Every site aims to recycle paper and cardboard, but some also recycle plastic cups and bottles, drink cans and toner cartridges. Most also donate redundant IT equipment to charity. Wood recycling has been initiated at our Liverpool Bulk Terminal. See Our Locations for further details of our site-specific initiatives.

East Midlands Electricity

The nature and scale of our distribution business, East Midlands Electricity, means that it produces a significant amount of waste materials that have to be effectively managed and eventually disposed of. The movement of materials to and from activities within the region are managed by a specialist logistics provider, who works in partnership with the business and our waste management contractor, to reduce the amount of waste that has to be disposed of. Returned materials are inspected for re-use potential and facilities have been established to recycle a number of different types of materials, with disposal being a last option.

During 2002 the business disposed of 935.2 tonnes of waste from this operation, of which 787.7 tonnes were non-special waste and 147.5 tonnes were special waste. The business continues to work with its waste management contractor to develop further waste minimisation and recycling initiatives and as a result recycled 56 tonnes of material during the year, including paper, drinks cans and cups, cardboard and wood.