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Most of our active pharmaceutical products are manufactured using
synthetic chemistry. The majority of the waste generated contains
solvents and chemicals used in these processes together with materials
generated during formulation and packaging operations. The amounts
of waste from these manufacturing processes are included in our
figures together with general site waste.
GSK generally classifies its waste into three categories: general
site waste, solvent waste and demolition/construction waste. Although
the definition of what constitutes a waste varies among countries
and provinces, for GSK reporting purposes a material is considered
a waste if it is no longer fit for its originally intended purpose.
In order to provide consistent reporting, GSK considers a waste
to be hazardous if it exhibits any of a number of properties as
defined by the Basel Convention in 1989 of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Included in these properties
are flammability, explosivity, water or air reactivity, corrosivity,
oxidising potential, acute or chronic toxicity, ecotoxicity or infection.
In addition, because of their nature and potential impact on R&D
activities, radioactive wastes are defined as hazardous.
In order to provide consistent reporting, GSK considers a waste
to be non-hazardous if it does not exhibit any of the hazardous
properties noted above.
GSK reports three measures for waste:
- Hazardous waste disposed - includes hazardous waste that has
been treated both on GSK property and at offsite destinations
and hazardous waste that has been sent to landfill. Treatment
includes processes that result in beneficial energy or resource
recovery and those that do not.
- Non-hazardous waste disposed - includes non-hazardous waste
that has been treated both on GSK property and at offsite destinations
and non-hazardous waste that has been sent to landfill. Treatment
includes processes that result in beneficial energy or resource
recovery and those that do not.
- Waste recycled - includes offsite and onsite reuse, recovery
and recycling of waste, including in-process recycling.
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| Aerial View of GSK Crawley, a
secondary pharmaceutical manufacturing facility |
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ISO 14001 accredits Crawley's waste management by
onsite waste contractor.
European regulations make GSK liable for how waste
is managed to the point of final disposal, even when
a contractor manages waste. Although Crawley, a secondary
pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, had a successful
record with their specialist waste management contractor,
the EHS Manager and Facilities Manager worked with their
contractor to develop and implement a comprehensive
waste management system that complied with GSK's Environment,
Health and Safety Global Standard 505, "Waste Management".
They then applied to British Standards and received
ISO14001accreditation for the system.
Since 1988, Crawley has used a specialist waste management
company to collect waste from production areas, take
it to an on-site waste compound where it is treated,
packaged and labelled for transport before being sent
for recycling or disposal. Using a contractor for waste
management has supported Crawley's initiatives to minimise
and recycle waste and has helped them to control costs.
The total cost to manage waste at Crawley has not risen
since 1998 even though production volumes and waste
disposal costs have risen in the last five years.
The ISO14001 accreditation that Crawley has received
for their waste management system demonstrates they
are effectively managing waste from creation to final
disposal ("cradle to grave") despite this
responsibility being transferred to a third party.
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Read
about our waste management performance |
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