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Waste

Our waste includes hazardous waste (mostly waste solvents) and non-hazardous waste (mostly general site waste). We report non-routine waste (mostly construction and demolition waste) separately because this fluctuates depending on building works and remediation projects.

Most of the active ingredients in our pharmaceutical products are manufactured using synthetic chemistry processes. This means that a significant proportion of our waste contains solvents and chemicals used in these processes and is classified as hazardous.

In 2004, we disposed of 43.1 million kg of non-hazardous waste and 73.7 million kg of hazardous waste.

Non-hazardous waste disposed per unit sales increased by 2.8% since 2003 (but decreased by 18.8% since 2001) - meaning we have exceeded our 2005 target of an 8% reduction per unit sales since 2001.

Hazardous waste disposed per unit sales increased by 27.5% since 2003 (17.3% since 2001) - meaning we are not on track to meet our 2005 target of a 15% reduction per unit sales since 2001. This is due to a combination of factors which are described in the hazardous waste section.

Many of our sites have introduced waste minimisation and recycling initiatives. In 2004, we recycled 239.2 million kg of waste (67.2% of the total waste generated). The proportion of waste recycled decreased by 11.1% since 2003 (11.5% since 2001) - meaning we are not on track to meet our 2005 target of a 10% increase in the proportion of waste recycled since 2001. Production changes during 2004 led to a greater proportion of solvent waste being blended as a fuel or incinerated and less recycled.

In 2004, a large number of projects related to waste issues - 20 in total - were submitted for the GSK CEO EHS Excellence Awards. Our site in Bogotá, Colombia, was awarded 1st place in the environment category of the awards for its pharmaceutical waste bioremediation project (see case study below).

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