NKT is giving all cable production scrap a second life.

By Christian Andersson, Senior Material Specialist in NKT and Natalia Lykova, Head of Group Sustainability in NKT.

In NKT, we can now generate material streams which can be recycled and transformed into high quality secondary raw materials for the production of new products and we are now enabling manufacturing of various products from the recycled material.

Full recyclability as a result of an impressive waste management process

NKT is committed to eliminating waste, and progress is based on a long-term focus on the reuse and recycling of cable scrap and other materials. In 2020, several local initiatives supporting the zero-waste objective were launched. Teams at all factories are reducing the use of the landfill and current state is that use of landfill constitutes only 4% of the total waste treatment processes of NKT. When it comes to waste reduction, production processes play an important role and efficient material utilization has been a long-term focus area.

Recycling of mixed fractions

We have continuously optimized a sorting system for production scrap. Today we separate the production scrap, at the production sites for building wire, 1 kV and medium voltage cables, in 30 separate material fractions. These fractions consist of different combinations of metal, plastic and other materials. The last few years NKT has been struggling with recycling of the last of the 30 material fractions, so called "mixed fraction", consisting of a mix of PE, XLPE, HFFR, foils and yarns.

NKT has finally succeeded in recycling this last mixed material fraction which is today used to manufacture products like flowerpots, square flower planters and traffic barrier pole feet.