Safe and Efficient Disposal

Our plants are operated by personnel trained in wastewater management, and each of our facilities has a wastewater plant for treating process water and stormwater. Valero uses specialized bacteria that naturally digest oil and other components in our waste streams, before discharging the water or reusing it to irrigate nearby fields or in habitat tanks at local aquariums. 

A corporate wastewater technology adviser works with each plant to ensure our systems are designed and operated to the highest standards and to meet very stringent discharge limits.

Image Source: Texas State Aquarium

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Waste Management

Wastewater management icon

Reducing at the source, reusing, recycling and repurposing of materials are key components of our waste reduction program. 

96% of all refinery hazardous and exempted waste was recycled in 2023.


 

Hazardous Waste
In 2023, more than 40 million pounds of catalyst were recycled to recover valuable metals. Valero’s hazardous waste management program includes 96% of all refinery hazardous and exempted waste was recycled in 2023. regular waste reviews, risk assessments, waste stream prioritization and formal personnel training programs. Every operating site follows specific expectations on the handling and recycling of hazardous wastes as specified in CTEMS.

Spill Prevention 
Valero is focused on reducing spills across our operations to protect our people and the environment, always with the goal of zero spills. Our commitment to reducing environmental scorecard incidents is a top priority and is strengthened by the inclusion of this metric in the all-employee bonus. The environmental scorecard incidents metric is weighted to the intensity of incidents, with greater impact for more significant events, including the severity of spills.