At Hidronor, we are committed to the sustainability of the country becoming a company that facilitates the circular economy value chain in accordance with the current legal framework where the EPR law is applied, and which imposes regulations so that companies are responsible for the industrial waste they produce with the prevention of their generation, recovery and recycling.
Our projects point towards the recovery and reprocessing of waste such as scrap, electronic devices and batteries, in addition to the remediation of contaminated soils with the aim of giving them a second, either industrial or residential, use. In the same way, we are a Chilean company pioneer in the production of alternative fuel starting from liquid hazardous waste, such as contaminated oils, paints, solvents, among others, which we are mainly commercializing with cement companies, being a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.
Regarding our contribution to the environment, our Sales and Marketing Manager, Juan Andrés Salamanca, highlights that "we are constantly working and exploring different service alternatives for mining and industrial companies based on the challenges imposed by the different regulations, as the EPR law, the new environmental regulations, everything related to a circular economy and the management of hazardous waste. Our more than 25 years of service have allowed us to build a solid and expert company focused on the management, treatment and recovery of waste so that it can be processed by other industries or disposed of safely.”
For his part, and in reference to mining, Pablo Seguel, Product Manager of the company, highlights that “our objective is to contribute to the environment by taking charge of the liabilities the companies are generating. In this sense, we manage, treat and value most of them in situ or in our facilities in Chile, while others will do it depending on their negative externality, we export them so that they can be treated abroad in accordance with the guidelines established by our country".
In summary, we can categorize the services that we offer the industry into three large groups, the first which includes treatments focused on the recovery of materials with a certain calorific value such as paints, oils, lubricants and greases; a second line made up of physical-chemical treatments (this is where corrosive waste is subjected to neutralization and phase separation processes), and in third place we situate the inertization line for solid wastes containing heavy metals, and depending on their characteristics are located in security deposits. Tailings and contaminated soils apply to this segment.
In addition, through our laboratory for waste characterization, first at a national level oriented to the analysis and design of treatments, we offer external services and monitoring of the waste that enters the facilities. Acute, chronic and intrinsic toxicity; flammability, reactivity and corrosivity are among the areas subject to investigation to determine their degree of hazardousness.
