We recently launched our 2019 Sustainability Report, an in-depth review of our progress over the past two years in delivering on our commitment to responsible mining. Over the next few weeks, we will be featuring our Corporate Responsibility strengths through our sustainability highlight column on Kinross World.
This week, we feature Kinross Russia’s efforts to eliminate single-use plastics at the Kupol and Dvoinoye operations that reduced plastic use by 430kg (~950 pounds) in 2019. The initiative was developed after evaluating the significant amount of plastic recycling being transported from the sites – approximately 548 containers or 3,760 tonnes had been shipped out for recycling from Kupol since 2009.
While the operations cannot eliminate all plastic use, the teams developed a new phase of the recycling program, aiming to eliminate single-use plastic at Kupol and Dvoinoye. They focused on two main areas: replacing plastic water bottles with a reusable alternative and replacing plastic tableware with biodegradable alternatives.
In order to reduce reliance on water shipped to site in plastic bottles, Kupol has developed a groundwater well to provide high-quality drinking water, expected to be operational in late 2020. Dvoinoye has also installed seven water purifiers and four reverse osmosis mini-units as a water source.
The initiative has had a strong start towards the operation’s short-term target of reducing plastic bottle use by 80%. Learn more about this improvement on page 51 of our Sustainability Report.
