Waste management

ExxonMobil uses a tiered approach to reduce both hazardous and nonhazardous waste. We first work to reduce waste at its source. If the waste is not fully eliminated, we recycle or reuse materials where possible. Any remaining waste is either treated to render it nonhazardous or disposed of in compliance with local regulations.

Since 2004, we successfully reused or recycled on average about 40 percent of the hazardous waste generated. The amount of hazardous waste disposed in 2008 totaled 339 thousand metric tons, an increase of about 45 percent from our 2005 to 2007 average. Excluding hazardous waste from three temporary remediation projects, where country regulations required disposal rather than recycling or re-use, our 2008 disposed volume was about equal to 2007 performance.