33

Recycling

manufacturing waste

Together with the environmental manager, the plant manager

is responsible for implementing circular economy practices

at the site. Wherever possible, waste is processed in a way

that allows it to substitute raw materials. At our production

facility in Meissen, we use materials from what is known as

“glost scrap” for the masf or shaping the ceramic. Finished

ceramic parts that are rejected as unsaleable after firing are

ground up externally and this material is then fed back into

our production process (2024: 518 t).

Similarly, waste residues of the slip produced when emptyin

g

the pipes after the end of production are fed back i

n

directly. A decanter is used to

filter out the fine, valuable ra

w

materials contained in the production water (2024: 181 t).

A similar process is used for the glazing process: the glaz

e

that does not stick to the product during glazing is captured,

prepared, and reused.

A filtration system was installed at the Hornberg plant

mid-2024 to recover raw materials for the slip (133 t). Thi

s

currently corresponds to 3.5% of the raw materials used;

this share is to be increased to 10% by 2040.

In Hornberg we already prepare the residual glaze and

feed this material back to the production process, as is

also the case in Meissen. Because of the different materia

l

compositions, glost scrap cannot be treated in Hornberg.

1,210 ton

s

of manufacturing wast

e

was fed back as a material for cerami

c

manufacture at the German facilities

.

15,898 t

of ceramic ra

w

materials used

in 2024

GRI 306-4