Motor Repairers Association of Jamaica

Transcription

1 Motor Repairers Association of Jamaica Environmental Code of Practice Improving Business Competitiveness and Protecting Jamaica's Environment With the support of ENACT (Environmental Action Programme) 10 Caledonia Avenue Kingston 5 Tel: (876) enact@mail.infochan.com Web:

2 Motor Repairers Association of Jamaica An Environmental Code of Practice The Executive Committee of the Motor Repairers Association of Jamaica (MRAJ) encourages the use of these Codes of Practice throughout the industry to enable members of the association to demonstrate environmental stewardship while delivering quality services for customers. The MRAJ is a chapter of the Automobile Service Association, the leading organization for owners and managers of automotive service businesses that strive to deliver excellence in service and repairs to consumers. The Motor Repairers Association of Jamaica believes that it is essential for the Jamaican motor repair industry to continuously improve the way their customers are served. These environmental codes and technical guidelines describe the changes that are needed to ensure excellence within the industry, and to gain the efficiencies necessary to increase business values. Andre Hylton, President Date Everett Fenton, Vice President Date MRAJ Mission "The Automotive Service Association advances the professionalism and excellence in the automotive repair industry through education, representation and member services."

3 MRAJ Environmental Codes of Practice Principles The MRAJ Environmental Codes of Practice support sustainable development in Jamaica by implementing business practices that are based on the following principles: Stewardship Each organization and individual within the MRAJ has a responsibility to act in a manner that ensures its products and services are used in such a way as to encourage the application of any defined industry standards as good business practices. By taking responsibility for the environment, each MRAJ member will contribute to the well-being of the industry and the sustainable development of Jamaica. Partnership For better business practices to work successfully at all levels within the MRAJ, all stakeholders, which include staff of MRAJ businesses, financial institutions, government agencies and regulators and customers, will strive to have a shared vision of the problems and opportunities facing the industry and to take mutual responsibility to manage the issues affecting good environmental business practices.

4 Environmental Code of Practice To enable registered motor repairers to conduct business in a manner that strengthens Jamaica s Automotive Repair Industry, aligns business practices consistent with national and international environmental priorities, and maximises the value of waste management techniques, the following code of practice will be applied: All buildings, establishments and operations in the business of automotive repair shall be done in accordance with approval and registration regulations of the Town Planning Department, Parish Councils and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation. All MRAJ businesses should comply with national building codes and zoning laws. Purchasing of goods and services should be done with establishments that operate with sound environmental practices and are in compliance with applicable regulations. These establishments should be able to offer product stewardship be able to collect and responsibly dispose of waste products from their goods and services or they should be able to offer assistance with the collection and disposal of waste products from their goods and services. All materials consumed and generated from automotive repair operations should be subjected to a programme of recycling, reducing, reusing or returning, whenever possible. Worker safety and health should be protected in all operations, through adequate management systems that include information, procedures and training. Safety and health information is available on literature and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), and should be available from suppliers of the chemicals that are used in the automotive industry. The literature should be simple and easy to understand, and accompanied by illustrations where possible. Equipment should be properly maintained for quality control and good environmental practice. Records should be kept for inventory control to minimize wastage and limit fire and emergency risks.

5 Technical Guidelines for Recycling, Reducing, Reusing and Returning Recovery and Disposal of Individual Components The composition of a typical car has changed substantially in recent years. For example, ferrous metal content has declined significantly, as lighter, more fuel-efficient materials are incorporated into vehicle design. The following average car material breakdown (by weight) derives from an analysis of vehicle manufacturer's data for around seventy popular 1998 car models: A national waste exchange database is being developed. MRAJ members can list all waste products in this database. In this way, other organizations may purchase your listed waste products to use as a resource material for their business. Likewise, MRAJ members may purchase (at a nominal cost) waste materials that are listed on the database. Wastes that may be needed in the automotive industry are rags from the garment industry and sawdust from the furniture industry. MRAJ members can view the website at

6 Tyres Scrap tyre disposal continues to be a major problem within the automotive industry. Tyres should be utilized to minimize environmental impact and maximize conservation of natural resources. This means reuse or retreading first, followed by reuse of the rubber to make rubber products, and then combustion and disposal. Scrap tyres can also be used as an alternative fuel source in cement kilns, saving enormous amounts of fossil fuels. Incineration with energy recovery yields an average of 32GJ per tonne of tyres, this calorific value being greater than that of coal. Retreading of car tyres in Jamaica is not done very often. This is typically because tyres are used until they are worn down to a point where retreating is not possible. Metropolitan Parks and Markets (MPM) has recently acquired a tyre baler, which can cut up old tyres and bale them in stacks. The stacks can then be used in civil engineering projects such as river training and building of embankments. Crumb rubber is usually made by chopping and grinding rubber into pieces the size of sand or silt. These granulated tyres can be used in a variety of ways, such as for athletics tracks, carpet underlay, playground surfaces and rubberized asphalt for road surfaces. Tyres also yield quantities of steel, which can be extracted using magnets during granulation or recovered from the residue on incineration. This type of processing is not yet available in Jamaica, but may be in the future. Landfilling tyres is not a viable option because of the problems associated with this method of disposal. The problems associated with landfilling tyres include uncontrolled fires, instability within the landfill and resource wastage. MRAJ members can dispose of tyres by contacting the following: Company Contact number Comments The National Solid Waste Management Authority/MPM Tyre baling will soon become availabale. Baled tyres can be used for civil engineering works such as river training etc.

7 Batteries Old batteries can be collected and recharged. Tropical Battery Limited has a programme in place where they will collect old batteries for export and recycling. MRAJ members can dispose of batteries by contacting the following: Company Contact number Comments Tropical Battery Marc Melville Pick up service available. 10 battery minimum

8 Vehicle Operating Fluids This is one of the areas of greatest concern regarding motor vehicles. The most important fluid, with regards to pollution potential, is lubricating oil (engine oils, gear and transmission oils, greases, metalworking oils, and other oils). One litre of waste oil can significantly contaminate one million litres of water, and oil poured onto the ground will affect the soil's fertility. Used oil can be collected and disposed of through the used oil project being run by the oil marketing companies. Through this project, used oil can be collected and transported to the cement company, where the oil will be burnt in high temperature cement kilns. Details can be obtained from Enact or the PSOJ Energy Committee. When removed, oil filters can retain large amounts of oil and this may be discarded with the filter, leading to further pollution. Oil can be recovered using special oil filter presses which squeeze out the oil, and the remaining flattened metal filter can be recycled with other steel. It is possible to buy oil filter crushers for use on site at garages, although this is currently not practiced in Jamaica. MRAJ members can dispose of vehicle fluids by contacting the following: Company Contact Number Comments Stephen Parris Caribbean Cement Company Minimum of 1000 gallons will be accepted per shipment Solvents and Fuels The kinds of wastes produced will depend on individual circumstances. However, similar types of waste will be produced by all automobile service operations. While not every waste will be able to be recycled in every area, it is still possible to reduce solid waste considerably by focusing on the major wastes and by making the changes that are possible. Fuel Service Area Accidental spills during refuelling of tanks must be caught by a spill container, or prevented by an overfill valve if it is a tight fill type system. A drip collection tray contains leakage under dispensers. An inline vertical check valve immediately beneath the product pumps will allow all products to drain back into the tank in the event of a gasoline or diesel line failure.

9 Solvents, thinners, reducers, brake cleaning spray and glycol can be reclaimed using distillation units. If the individual purchase of a distillation unit is not costeffective, perhaps other shops as well the Public Works Authority can share one. In the long term, this is the best solution environmentally and economically. Solvents and glycol are both classified as waste. Disposing of these materials down drains or into landfills is both illegal and dangerous. They are poisonous and can affect drinking water. Containers for auto service products can be made of a number of materials. Plain cardboard or boxboard packages can be recycled wherever cardboard recycling is possible. Some plastic containers may be recycled locally through Recycle for Life. MRAJ members can dispose of plastic packaging material by contacting the following: Company Contact Number Comments Recycle for Life Bevon Morrison or

10 Scrap Metals Approximately 76% by weight of the average car is metal, most of which is comprised of sheet steel. The overall metal content of cars has declined rapidly during the past 20 years, which has been accompanied by an increase in the proportion of non-ferrous metals used in their manufacture, such as aluminium and magnesium. Presently, between 95 and 98% of the metals in a car can be recycled. These metals are recovered by the vehicle shredding industry, and subsequently utilized by the steel industry and resmelting plants. Currently, this type of recovery is not available in Jamaica. Metals can be collected by informal collectors at Riverton City where the metals will be taken to scrap dealers. Further details can be obtained through the National Solid Waste Programme (NEPA). MRAJ members can dispose of scrap metals by contacting the following: Company Contact Number Comments Gen-Trad International Limited Radiators and engine blocks accepted NEPA or

11 Air Conditioner Disposal Scientists worldwide have concluded that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs, also known by the trade name Freon) deplete the ozone layer. CFCs have been used in the manufacturing of many products, such as foam insulation, electronics equipment, refrigerators and air conditioners. When allowed to escape, these chemicals drift to about 30 miles above the Earth to the stratospheric ozone layer - a layer of gas that screens us from the sun's powerful ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation. Once there, CFCs break apart and releases chlorine, which then attacks ozone. A single chlorine atom can destroy more than 100 thousand ozone molecules. Air conditioning units in motor vehicles that contain refrigerants must be removed prior to disposal of the unit. In Jamaica, the Refrigerant Management Plan (RMP) is essentially the country s strategy for achieving the phase-out of CFCs in the servicing of refrigeration and airconditioning equipment. The Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) Recovery & Recycle (R&R) project was completed in 1999 and covered the provision of about 20 Recovery & Recycle machines to selected MAC service workshops and training to about 40 MAC technicians. MRAJ members can recover and recycle CFCs from automobile air conditioning units by contacting the following: Company Contact Number Comments Air Tech Refrigeration St. James Auto Place Limited Brentford Auto Air Conditioning Chill Tech Refrigeration and Air Trelawny Conditioning Classic Auto Ai Conditioning or Cremo Limited DSL Maintenance Limited /9 Expert Auto Air Conditioning Hill s Auto Air Conditioning St. James Jules Dave Limited /6 Pike s Auto Mechanic S & C Sales & Service Centre or Temperature Systems Service or T & T Auto Cooler Limited or Thermo King of Jamaica Limited