Recycling
Circular economy by 2040
Every year, more resources are used worldwide than nature can regenerate in the same period. We have an increased need for resources due to our construction activities. For us, this means we need to use raw materials carefully, keeping them in the value chain for as long as possible and recycling our waste whenever possible.
We are striving to achieve a complete circular economy throughout DB Group by 2040, with a special focus on the Integrated Rail System.
Our particular focus is on the increasing use of recycled materials and renewable raw materials. Our procured products should also have maximum recyclability.
Waste management
Within the scope of our environmental management system in accordance with DIN ISO 14001, clear regulations regarding the circular economy have been defined for the Integrated Rail System in Germany. For example, when materials and substances are no longer needed, we check whether they can be recycled and via which route they leave the DB Group. We are fundamentally a waste producer, which means that we manage and take active responsibility for implementing legally compliant and environmentally friendly waste disposal via third parties all the way through to final disposal.
Using our internal waste management system, we collect and dispose of almost every type of waste separately according to individual fractions. This allows us to recirculate the waste and generate revenue for specific waste. Hazardous and non-hazardous waste is recorded via a central IT system, which provides transparency about waste flows and disposal routes.
Recycling rate
Volume of waste according to type of waste and disposal procedure / thousand t | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Construction waste | 7,657 | 8,342 | 7,656 |
Recycling | 7,449 | 8,069 | ‒ |
Thermal utilization and disposal | 208 | 273 | ‒ |
Scrap | 363 | 327 | 331 |
Recycling | 362 | 327 | ‒ |
Thermal utilization and disposal | 0.2 | 0.1 | ‒ |
Electronic scrap | 1.3 | 3.8 | 1.8 |
Recycling | 0.9 | 3.3 | ‒ |
Thermal utilization and disposal | 0.4 | 0.5 | ‒ |
Municipal waste | 71.1 | 55.3 | 53.6 |
Recycling | 37.8 | 23.7 | ‒ |
Thermal utilization and disposal | 33.3 | 31.6 | ‒ |
Paper | 32.6 | 37.9 | 31.4 |
Recycling | 31.0 | 37.2 | ‒ |
Thermal utilization and disposal | 1.6 | 0.7 | ‒ |
Waste oil | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.8 |
Recycling | 1.8 | 1.4 | ‒ |
Thermal utilization and disposal | 0.1 | 0.2 | ‒ |
Other 1) | 61.0 | 61.7 | 58.1 |
Recycling | 32.8 | 32.5 | ‒ |
Thermal utilization and disposal | 28.2 | 29.2 | ‒ |
Total waste | 8,187 | 8,830 | 8,134 |
Recycling | 7,916 | 8,495 | 7,771 |
Thermal utilization and disposal | 272 | 335 | ‒ |
Recorded for the first time in 2021 according to the new GRI Standard 306: Waste, thus only limited previous year’s figures available.
Period from October 1 to September 30; DB Schenker January 1 to December 31 of the previous year.
Individual values do not add up due to rounding differences.
Excluding DB Arriva. DB Cargo AG is the only part of the DB Cargo business unit included.
The waste has been generated through company activities and is managed by third parties outside DB Group.
1) For example paint, varnish, sludge and other maintenance-related waste.
Volume of hazardous and non-hazardous waste / thousand t | 2022 | 2021 |
Hazardous waste | 385 | 477 |
Share of recycling (%) | 62.0 | 67.9 |
Share of thermal utilization and disposal (%) | 38.0 | 32.1 |
Non-hazardous waste | 7,802 | 8,352 |
Share of recycling (%) | 98.4 | 97.8 |
Share of thermal utilization and disposal (%) | 1.6 | 2.2 |
Total waste | 8,187 | 8,830 |
Period from October 1 to September 30; DB Schenker January 1 to December 31 of the previous year.
Individual values may not add up due to rounding differences.
Excluding DB Arriva. DB Cargo AG is the only part of the DB Cargo business unit included.
Of the waste generated in 2022, about 95% (previous year: 95%) was classified as non-hazardous. This includes, for example, municipal waste and the majority of construction waste. The remainder, about 5%, includes waste that presents a risk to health or the environment – for example waste oil or contaminated waste wood. Special procedures ensure that this waste is disposed of safely. Here, too, we consider the conservation of resources and look at opportunities for recycling or thermal utilization of waste.
Recycling share of main resources
Period: October 1 to September 30.
1) 2019 dataset, database expansion expected to be completed by the end of 2023
Use of materials in track infrastructure | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Ballast (thousand t) | 3,471 | 3,638 | 3,186 |
Share of recycling (%) | 11.4 | 10.7 | 16.2 |
Machine ballast processing (million t) | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 |
thereof directly recycled | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Concrete ties (thousand) | 2,089 | 2,590 | 2,400 |
Share of recycling (%) | 13.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
Period: October 1 to September 30.
We are striving to achieve a complete circular economy throughout DB Group by 2040, with a special focus on the Integrated Rail System. Our particular focus is on the increasing use of recycled materials and renewable raw materials. Our procured products should also have maximum recyclability. To this end, we will significantly increase the recycling proportions in the products we procure by 2030 compared to 2019. In 2022, we set binding targets for our central resources (track ballast, concrete ties and rail steel), which represent around 80% of the total material used in the Integrated Rail System, in order to consistently increase their recycling share. In addition, we will maintain our recycling rate at a high level of at least 95%.
For the maintenance of the track network, we have established a material cycle for ballast and concrete ties:
- In 2022, around 3.1 million t (previous year: 2.8 million t) of worn-out ballast was removed from the track network and reprocessed in certified disposal facilities into recycled ballast for internal reuse or further use as gravel or crushed sand for road building.
Outlook
| Anticipated development | 2022 | 2023 |
| Recycling rate (%) | 96.7 | >95 |
We will continue to keep the recycling rate at a high level in 2023.