NKT has taken a significant step in reducing the environmental impact of their power cables closing the loop on cable scrap by reusing 100% for new applications like cable drums, flowerpots and construction materials.
As the first power cable company, NKT has successfully reused all materials from its medium- and high-voltage power cable scrap for new applications. This achievement is a breakthrough in the company’s journey towards zero waste.
The recycling of power cable scrap is an important step in reducing the environmental impact of the cable industry, and NKT is now setting new standards by giving power cable scrap a second life in new products. After entering a partnership with the Norwegian recycling specialist KMT, scrap materials from the NKT production are now being transformed into flowerpots, cable drums and construction supplies.
"We have taken a significant step in reducing the environmental impact of our power cables as we have now developed a process that makes it possible for us to reuse our scrap by 100%. This is the result of a long-term focus on strengthening our recycling and waste handling to constantly reduce the carbon footprint of our power cables," says Anders Jensen, Chief Technology Officer in NKT.
NKT now practices open and closed loop recycling where waste is collected, recycled and produced into new products. Effectively, the waste does a full circle without having a negative impact on the environment by becoming a new material instead.
Game changing achievement
In 2021, NKT divested its specialized recycling center to KMT and entered a partnership to take the recycling of power cable scrap to the next level by solving the challenges of recycling the mixed waste fraction consisting of 30 material fractions proven hard to recycle.
"This is a game changer in connecting a greener world through more environmentally sound processes. By finding a solution to the mixed fraction of our cable scrap reaches full recyclability as we have successfully proven that metals and cable plastics can be reused in other industrial applications," says Anders Jensen.
For NKT, the next step is to increase the recycled volumes until all production scrap goes to either internal or external recycling. NKT has a long-term ambition to have zero waste and is striving to keep all products and materials in use for as long as possible by reusing, reselling or recycling as much production materials as possible.
