2021 Owens Corning Sustainability Report | Reducing Our Environmental Footprint | Waste Management | 182 Briquette Production Briquetting refers to the compression of industrial scrap and other byproducts. In their compacted shape, these briquettes can be reused as input material for cupolas in our operations. At several of our mineral wool sites, scrap rockwool and other byproducts are being converted into briquettes. Although most of the briquettes are manufactured by third-party companies, our facility in Guangde, China, built a brick workshop in 2019. Briquettes made there are fed back into the cupola; this solution for production waste helps the facility send zero waste to landfill. Reducing Sludge from Wastewater Treatment In recent years, we have had notable initiatives reducing process-related and wastewater treatment sludge and increasing recycling of fly ash and shot, which we continue to work at expanding. In 2021, we diverted 25% of sludge from the landfill, up from 13% in 2010. Our facility in Taloja, India, is investigating the use of sludge from the wastewater treatment process for use in cement. Our Yuhang, China, plant is focused on reducing sludge by improving binder application efficiency and reducing moisture content through dewatering. The sludge recycling program at our plant in Besana, Italy, has continued to increase volume. Our Kimchon, South Korea, facility is recycling all their sludge through two outlets, and they stopped sending sludge to landfill in 2018. Photo submitted by: Jan-Christian Stenroos | Parainen, Finland Raw material at the Paroc plant in Parainen, Finland.