Waste Management, Landfill & Recycling

2. Recycling competition: ANSA Packaging continues to sponsor the Rotaract Club Central of Port of Spain’s Recyclathon, for the last 3 consecutive years since its inception in 2020. The project’s main objectives are to educate the public on the recycling processes in Trinidad and Tobago, increase the collection of recyclables including glass, and reduce the quantity of waste reaching the nation’s landfills. In 2022, the project focused on engaging primary and secondary school students.

A close associate of ANSA Packaging, the Beverage Sector is also doing its part in reducing waste that goes to the region’s landfills. At the St. Kitts and Nevis brewery both glass bottles and plastic crates that can no longer be reused are crushed for recycling. The crushed crate material is exported to ANSA Polymer in Trinidad for manufacturing new crates and the crushed glass is collected by a contractor for export for recycling.

IN 2022, APPROXIMATELY

2,241,000 KGS OF SPENT MALT GRAINS WERE PROVIDED TO FARMERS

Brewing produces a lot of spent malt grain and at the Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis breweries, spent grain is sold or distributed to farmers as a low-cost additive to supplement animal feed. This spent grain has a high protein content which can reduce feed purchases by more than 30 percent. This initiative reduces the waste output of the process. In 2022, approximately 2,241,000 kgs of spent malt grains were provided to farmers; approximately 552,000 in Grenada, 940,000 kgs in St. Kitts and Nevis and 749,000 kgs in Trinidad and Tobago.

CONSTRUCTION

Install a solvent recovery plant to reduce dirty solvent disposal

In the Construction Sector, waste generated from clay fired blocks (broken blocks) is sold as backfill. It is also reused in the clay mine for the maintenance of roads. At Bestcrete (concrete block manufacture) blocks and raw materials that cannot be put back into the process, referred to as “Hard Core”, is sold and popularly used for ground fill. In the Manufacturing sector, scrap plastic materials that are produced in start up or shut down or purging of equipment, and those that do not pass quality inspections and cannot be ground and reused, are sold to a recycling contractor.

To further reduce the Group’s waste output, the Construction Sector has committed to reducing waste generated by the paint manufacturing operations by investing in a solvent recovery plant.

Recycling Of Waste Oil

Waste oil collected by the Automotive and Construction Sectors are not disposed of. They are returned to the provider or sent to a service provider that consolidates and exports the waste oil to international refineries.

Climate Impact

As small island developing states (SIDS), the Caribbean countries are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of Climate Change. It is with this consciousness that ANSA McAL is committed to reducing the environmental footprint of its operations and investing in renewable energy.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

WE HAVE COMMITTED TO SEVERAL INITIATIVES THAT REDUCE THE GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS FROM THE GROUP’S OPERATIONS AND BUSINESSES.

SOME OF THESE ARE ALREADY IN PROGRESS.

As one of the Caribbean’s largest glass manufacturers, CGL contributes recycled and used food-safe glass bottles for use in the manufacturing of new glass containers while simultaneously emitting less carbon dioxide. Recycling glass is not only more sustainable because less raw materials are needed for manufacturing new glass, but also because it takes less energy to melt glass cullet than it does to melt pure raw materials (sand, soda ash and limestone).

The addition of cullet to the process can reduce the maximum temperature required and hence less energy and Greenhouse Gas emissions generated. An additional benefit is the extended Furnace life because including cullet in the manufacturing mix makes it less corrosive and lowers the melting temperature. Glass recycling is a closed-loop system, creating no additional waste or by-products.

In September 2022, The ANSA McAL Construction Sector proudly launched Aquabase Plus to auto-dealers, garages, auto-body refinishers, and the public. Aquabase Plus is a premium waterborne refinish system, with market-leading technical excellence and advanced colour capability. Drawing upon the rich European heritage of NEXA AUTOCOLOR® brand innovation and the world’s first waterborne basecoat launched in 1992, the Aquabase Plus system offers the latest, next-generation technology to deliver technical excellence and high performance. It’s an industry-leading, environmentally progressive solution with reduced VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) emissions for accurate repair of original finishes without sacrificing process efficiency.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

ANSA MCAL HAS COMMITTED TO SEVERAL INITIATIVES TO REDUCE THE GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS FROM THE GROUP’S OPERATIONS AND BUSINESSES.

SOME OF THESE ARE ALREADY IN PROGRESS.

SWITCHING TO GREENER FUELS –GROUP & PUBLIC VEHICLES: CNG, LPG AND HYBRIDS

GHG emissions from the Group’s vehicles has been reduced by converting several from petrol and diesel fuel to CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and by purchasing forklifts that utilize LPG fuel.

AT CARIB BREWERY TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO over 25% OF THE FLEET IS CNG FUELED: 6 delivery trucks, 26 light duty trucks and 1 car, and 37 of the forklifts in use are LPG fuelled.

AT ANSA MOBILITY TRINIDAD 26% OF THE MOBILITY RENTAL FLEET IS CNG FUELED: 16 trucks, 24 minibuses, 6 light trucks and 18 cars.

ANSA MOBILITY also offers hybrid rental vehicles:

4% in Trinidad and Tobago

8% in Barbados

ANSA Motors Trinidad is currently fully supporting the needs of the public to convert private vehicles from petrol and diesel fuel to CNG fuel. The fuel price hike in Trinidad and Tobago at the end of September 2022, due to the continued reduction in the fuel subsidy by the Government, has resulted in a marked interest by the public in converting their vehicles to CNG fuel.

By October 2022 ANSA Motors completed 330 CNG conversions with nearly one quarter of these occurring in October, right after the fuel price increase. Interest continued into the end of the year with ANSA Motors facilitating conversions 6 days a week to handle an additional 144 conversions, resulting in a total of 474 CNG conversions completed in 2022

ANSA Motors has also seen an increased interest in Hybrid vehicles, with strong interest from the buying public due to fuel/cost saving potential, even though these vehicles tend to have a higher initial cost because of the technology and materials used in manufacturing.

In Barbados the Kia Niro Hyrid represents 18% of ANSA Motors’ sales. In Trinidad, two Honda Hybrids began retailing in June (Honda HRV) and October (Honda City), and demand currently outweighs supply – impacted by the Global supply chain challenges. These changing market trends highlight the benefits for the users, the company and the environment.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

ANSA MCAL HAS COMMITTED TO SEVERAL INITIATIVES TO REDUCE THE GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS FROM THE GROUP’S OPERATIONS AND BUSINESSES.

SOME OF THESE ARE ALREADY IN PROGRESS.

Reforestation Initiatives At Quarries

The Group operates three quarries – a sand quarry in Matura operated by Carib Glassworks Limited for glass bottle manufacturing, and two operated by the Construction Sector: a sand quarry in Matura for the mining of sand and gravel for concrete block manufacturing and a clay quarry in Longdenville for the mining of clay for clay brick manufacturing.

Given the percentage of new glass manufactured through the mining of sand, Carib Glassworks has invested in a quarry rehabilitation project in collaboration with the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) through its Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management (IWEco) Initiative.

THE NOW 12-HECTARE REHABILITATION PROJECT AT THE NORTHEASTERN TURTLE-NESTING VILLAGE OF MATURA AIMS TO RESTORE NATURAL VEGETATION, REDUCE SEDIMENTATION AND FLOOD RISK, AND RESTORE THE ECOLOGICAL FUNCTION OF EXHAUSTED OR ABANDONED QUARRY PITS.

The rehabilitation project also provided jobs to residents through IWEco TT’s collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme – Small Grants Programme which trains unemployed persons in theoretical and practical quarry rehabilitation techniques.

BETWEEN 2019 AND 2022 A TOTAL OF 2HA OF LAND WAS REFORESTED.

Since 2019 a total of 2,500 seedlings and saplings (indigenous to the region) have been planted. Land stabilization has been a real challenge at the rehabilitation site. Under the expert guidance and support of the NGO IAMovement, through the partnership with IWEco and the EMA, Vetiver grass, a nature-based solution for land stabilization has proven successful in stabilizing the land in the areas that it was installed in horizontal rows on contours perpendicular to the flow of surface runoff. A total of 8,000 vetiver slips have been planted at the quarry. This includes a vetiver nursery such that the vetiver grass can be used in areas of future rehabilitation to increase chances of success.

The Construction sector has partnered with the Melajo and Cumuto Forestry Division branches to identify the most suitable tree species for planting on the rehabilitated land. At the clay quarry in Longdenville, rehabilitation began in 2013 with 20 acres of land already rehabilitated. Species planted include Caribbean pine, Cedar, Yellow and Pink Poui, Cashew, Mango and Pomerac.

At the Construction sector sand and gravel quarry in Matura, rehabilitation began in 2021 with approximately 5 acres of land rehabilitated with Caribbean pine, Crapo, Hog Plum and Pomerac trees. In 2022, coming out of the pandemic, the focus has been on maintaining these rehabilitated areas by cutting around the planted trees, fertilization etc.