KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Caribbean Cement Company Limited (CCCL) for the entity to use end-of-life pneumatic tires in the cement-production process.
Under the arrangement, CCCL will convert used tires at the landfills into an alternative source of fuel, thereby reducing costs and making a positive impact on the environment.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who addressed the virtual signing ceremony, said that the agreement will provide a solution to the indiscriminate disposal of used tires and the stockpiling of the material at the landfills.
He said it is estimated that more than two million used tires are generated in Jamaica annually and landfills receive approximately 185,700 tires per year.
“Most of these tires are indiscriminately disposed of along roadways, in gullies, stockpiled in open lots and, of course, stored in our landfills, and we estimate that we have approximately two million tires stockpiled at Riverton City,” Holness told the ceremony.
“Their very presence creates a myriad of environmental hazards, public health risks, along with other challenges. Further to that, they occupy valuable space when hoarded at landfills,” he said, pointing out further, that tires are not biodegradable, and that leaving them in a stockpile is not a solution.
He commended CCCL on the innovation in transforming the used tires into a fuel source.
Holness said the production of cement is a highly intensive, energy-consuming activity, with statistics from the Cement Sustainable Initiative 2002, indicating that it takes approximately 60 to 130 kilograms of fuel oil and 110 kilowatt hours of electricity to produce one ton of cement.
“As such, it is important that the cement industry identifies ways in which it can substitute fossil fuel for sustainable, alternative energy sources. End-of-life tires are ideal for use as an alternative fuel in cement production,” he noted.
Prime Minister Holness said that the signing on Tuesday “symbolizes a change in perception from waste as a problem, to waste as a resource.
“The problems that we need to overcome and the opportunities that we must grasp are interwoven; they are not separate things. The lesson that we should learn is that whatever presents a problem, if you search hard enough, if you approach it from an innovative perspective, you can actually find an opportunity”.
CCCL managing director, Yago Castro, said that the signing ceremony symbolizes the continuation of a long-standing partnership between the company and the Government.
“It represents an extension of our purpose of being responsible corporate citizens and will result in positive environmental and social impacts.
“At Carib Cement… achieving environmental excellence is a priority. We dedicate efforts to addressing key sustainability-related issues from biodiversity and conservation to renewable energy, climate change and emission’s monitoring,” Castro said.
Caribbean Cement Company Limited (CCCL), which was incorporated here in 1947 and commenced production in 1952, is a member of the Trinidad-based Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) Group.
