Exxaro generates various waste streams, including mining waste, general and hazardous waste. To manage these waste streams, we adopt a cradle-to-cradle approach, prioritising the prevention, reuse and recycling of waste while ensuring safe disposal as a last resort. By transforming waste streams into opportunities within a circular economy model, we reduce our environmental impact and create lasting benefits for host communities.
Our waste management practices are guided by our environment policy and focus on responsible waste handling that mitigates environmental risks, optimises resource use and creates opportunities for local economic upliftment. Our waste management practices are enabled by:
Accountability and responsibility
Our sustainability managers, supported by on-site environmental specialists, under the leadership of the chief sustainable impact officer, oversee the implementation of our policy and practices at operations. A newly appointed senior specialist: waste management oversees compliance with waste licences, policy reviews and the implementation of group-wide recycling strategies.
BUs are responsible for managing and separating general and hazardous waste at source, with authorised third-party waste management service providers appointed to handle recycling, collection and safe disposal.
Regulatory compliance
We comply with the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act 59 of 2008) and supporting legislation to ensure waste prevention, minimisation, reuse and recycling are prioritised. We adhere to the Industry Waste Tyre Management Plan to manage waste tyre collection, develop processing capacity and implement monitoring systems to track progress.
Beyond compliance
We use advanced technologies to optimise waste recycling and reuse, as well as innovative solutions that promote sustainable waste management and local economic development. We integrate recycling effort into SLPs to empower local communities through training and skills development.
Key elements of our approach include:
CENNERGI
Cennergi's operation and maintenance contractors are responsible for waste management at both wind energy facilities. The facility site manager supported by the head: corporate and social responsibility oversee policy implementation and practice at the wind energy and solar facilities.
The draft Waste Act Amendment Bill 2024 proposes to amend the definition of waste and is likely to have far-reaching regulatory consequences for mining and other industries. Exxaro is participating in the consultation process through the Chemicals and Waste Management branch of the Minerals Council of South Africa to ensure that our waste management policies and procedures remain relevant and effective.
Exxaro's general waste streams include:
BUs benefit from recycling initiatives, including rebates from selling scrap metal and conveyor belts. Our target is to divert 80% to 85% of recyclable waste from landfill sites by 2025.
Hazardous waste streams (such as contaminated soil, used personal protective equipment and medical waste) are separated from general waste. Authorised waste service providers handle hazardous waste, including used oil, hydrocarbons and sewage, ensuring disposal at licensed waste facilities. Medical waste generated at Matla and Grootegeluk clinics is managed by healthcare professionals, ensuring environmental, health and safety compliance.
CENNERGI
Waste generated at Cennergi's facilities includes general waste, oil rags and used oil. Cennergi implements waste separation at source to increase recycling, where possible, and minimise waste sent to landfill.
All BUs report monthly on waste volumes generated, recycled and sent to licensed waste facilities (as required by waste management legislation, management procedures and efficiency reporting). We also collate data on our waste tyre stockpiles at BUs in support of the national drive to reliably quantify waste tyre data.
Sites producing more than 20kg/day of hazardous waste are registered on the South African Waste Information System.
We track our performance using KPIs aligned with the JSE/FTSE and ESG indices, which include:
To drive continuous improvement and align with best practices, we are working towards additional disclosures, including:
| KPI | Target |
| Time-specific, quantified and unquantified targets to reduce or avoid waste | December 2025 |
| Three-year data for non-recycled and recycled waste (in tonnes) | December 2025 |
| Progress against previously set waste reduction targets | December 2028 |
Exxaro is also exploring environment, health and safety and ESG software solutions to integrate the management, monitoring and reporting of sustainability KPIs, including waste.
We collaborate with the Minerals Council of South Africa, the Waste Management Bureau and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to advance sustainable waste tyre management. This includes quantifying waste tyre stockpiles and exploring technologies such as energy recovery (tyre-derived fuel), pyrolysis, material recycling (crumbing) and reuse.
We contributed to the development of integrated waste management solutions in collaboration with the Lephalale local municipality and Impact Catalyst. These solutions promote sustainable waste management, support local economic development, create jobs and facilitate business participation. The key solutions we are exploring include:
Waste (t)
There was a general increase in hazardous waste generation at most of our mines:
Despite this increase, there was an overall decrease in group hazardous waste generation in 2024, attributable to the 25% reduction in hazardous waste generated at Grootegeluk.
The reduction is due to minimising the coal residue from the dump trucks' beds ending up in the silt trap of the wash bay.
The overall volumes of general waste generation across our operations decreased by 9% to 969t (2023: 1 027t).
The general recyclable waste diverted from landfill is 72%, that is 2 457t recycled, out of 3 426t of total general waste (2023: 73%, 2 745t of 3 772t).
CENNERGI
Cennergi did not report any waste grievances, fines or penalties during the year.
Applying Exxaro's waste hierarchy principles, the company sells Belfast's recyclable waste to local recyclers who, in turn, can reduce their financial and environmental costs by using fewer resources (raw materials, water and energy) in manufacturing products from recyclable waste bought from previously unemployed citizens.
We contracted a black youth-owned company that employs community members to sort and collect recyclable waste.
The project faced significant disruptions due to contractor non-conformance that led to delays in recycling activities. Contractor onboarding documents were finalised in October and recycling activities resumed in November 2024. To prevent this in future, we are strengthening due diligence when engaging local partners, developing contingency plans to address potential disruptions and maintaining regular communication to monitor progress and ensure compliance.
Belfast and Matla mines treat dirty water from pits and underground workings through a modular water treatment plant that produces drinking quality water in compliance with their WUL limits.
The Exxaro corporate office embarked on a waste separation and recycling drive to divert recyclable waste from landfill sites. Waste (eg sludge organic waste, glass, paper, plastic, non-ferrous metal cans) generated is securely stored in and separated at the designated temporary waste storage facility. The waste is removed by an authorised service provider and transported to a recycling facility in Pretoria West. Each load is tracked by the appointed waste service provider, ensuring contribution to waste reduction and prevention of environmental pollution. Following this successful implementation of our waste stream separation measures, the corporate office was able to divert 65% of recyclable waste from landfill.
Our primary focus in 2025 will be:
IR