Waste management

Klabin prioritizes efficiency and the reuse of byproducts. When internal recovery is not feasible, it sends waste for external recycling, following strict segregation procedures. In 2020, it undertook to send zero industrial waste to landfills by 2030 and it has been working toward this goal. 

The progress of the waste utilization action plan is monitored on the corporate environmental indicator dashboard. Every month, the Environment Area meets with industrial operation teams to evaluate waste reduction initiatives and alternatives to landfill disposal. 

At the same time, the Company invests in technologies for incorporating and adding value to resources, maintaining a line of research and development focused on eliminating or minimizing environmental impacts. See more in the Products and Partnerships with the Value Chain and Circularity section. 

This approach has resulted in consistent practices, both internally and throughout the value chain. Examples include the management of eucalyptus and pine forests using bark and other waste to fuel energy and steam boilers; the reuse of sludge in agriculture; the use of dregs and grits (around 1.2% of the total) to make agricultural inputs and soil conditioners; and the use of paper trimmings from plants and screen rejects from the market to produce recycled paper. Effluent sludge and screening rejects are processed in the recycling chain. 

Production growth resulting from acquisitions or capacity expansion increases the volume of waste, making it challenging to maintain reuse rates. To support pre- and post-consumer recycling, the Company operates recycled paper units in Brazil’s Southeast and Northeast regions, which process trimmings, corrugated cardboard scraps, materials from customers and inputs from collection operators (waste pickers and managers). 

With an annual capacity of 450,000 metric tons, Klabin is Brazil’s largest paper recycler. Its plants supply high-quality recycled raw materials to packaging mills, contributing to the efficient use of resources. 

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Data collection and monitoring, standards and tools

Klabin’s units continuously manage and inventory solid waste, based on characteristics such as weight, costs, revenues, disposal method and classification in accordance with NBR 10004. Materials are controlled by weighing them on scales (in kilograms or metric tons). These figures are recorded and consolidated on an environmental indicator platform.  

This platform, combined with tools and software programs that bring innovation and productivity to management, supports efforts to recover value from waste generated by the Company and enables critical analysis to monitor the volumes generated and their final disposal. Waste inventory reports comply with state and federal environmental agency standards and legislation.

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Measures used to manage significant impacts

Environmental management adheres to ISO 14001, which certifies most of the Company’s plants. The Sustainability Policy (items 7.8, 7.9, 7.16 and 7.18) establishes the following principles:  

• Pursuit of efficient technologies;  

• Expansion of circularity;  

• Reduction of solid waste to prevent pollution; and  

• Compliance with product, environmental, health and safety standards. 

All operations undergo periodic internal audits. Certified operations comply with the management system, while the others are preparing for a formal audit conducted by an internal team certified in ISO 14001. Federal, state and municipal legislation on solid waste (including Federal Law 12,305 of 2010) is monitored and accompanied by compliance actions. 

Environmental indicators are part of the performance-based pay of employees and senior management. 

Through a partnership between the R&D, Sustainability and Environment areas, progress was made in 2024 in incorporating sludge, dregs and grits into the production of bricks and cement products, in addition to the agricultural use of lime sludge and other waste.

Klabin’s units participate in the Company’s “Superar” (“Surpass”) continuous improvement program, based on the principle of Total Productive Management (TPM), focused on optimizing energy and water consumption and waste management. Awareness and training activities are carried out according to each plant’s profile to boost operational efficiency. 

Waste generated by third parties 

Klabin defines legal and performance requirements for hiring third parties for waste management. In addition to routine monitoring and waste transportation and disposal operations, contractors undergo frequent environmental audits conducted by Company professionals to identify their technical capacity, opportunities for improvement and compliance with stipulated requirements.

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Performance analysis 

Klabin maintains a solid waste processing plant at its Ortigueira Plant in Paraná, which is responsible for transforming and reusing approximately 90% of the waste generated at its main sites (accounting for over 70% of its total production capacity). 

Main actions focused on waste reuse in 2024:  

• Betim Plant, Minas Gerais: Sludge waste sent for co-processing; 

• Itajaí Plant, Santa Catarina: Sludge waste sent for composting;  

• Lages Plant, Santa Catarina: Sludge waste sent for composting and class I waste for co-processing; 

• Manaus 1 and Manaus 2 plants, Amazonas: Printing process waste sent for composting and class I waste for co-processing; 

• Otacílio Costa Plant, Santa Catarina: Non-recyclable waste sent for co-processing; 

• Rio Verde Plant, Goiás: Co-processing of solid waste previously sent to industrial landfills. This was the Company’s first operational unit to achieve zero industrial waste sent to landfills.