Tate & Lyle Sugars Case Study: Food Waste

As part of its refining process, Tate & Lyle Sugars produces 11,000 tonnes of calcium carbonate (CCC) each year – a by-product that, until recently, was being used as a relatively low value (but still sustainable) land application material on farmers’ fields.

Today, as part of the company’s drive to be more sustainable across its processes and increasingly innovative with its supply chain, the company, in partnership with York Handmade Bricks, is now converting CCC into valuable, versatile and iconic building material used across the UK.

Tate & Lyle Sugars has always wanted to create a portfolio of susainable uses for its CCC and in doing so, has not only benefited other key industry but also the wider environment.

The main benefits of using CCC in bricks include:

• It’s better for the planet – CCC provides brick manufacturers with a renewable alternative to traditional ingredients that are used to add colour to brick (some of which are imported from overseas).
• It can be used to supplement and ultimately replace the use of fireclay – Fireclay has been traditionally used in the brick industry, but this material is becoming increasingly scarce in the UK (it’s mines alongside coal).
• No water is used – Tate and Lyle Sugars CCC is already pre-wetted so bring manufacturers are able to use CCC directly in the process of making bricks.
• Saves energy – CCC enables kilns to run more energy efficiently and at more consistent temperatures. This results in energy savings, less waste and faster production times.

In 2018, York Handmade Bricks made about 40,000 bricks with Tate and Lyle Sugars’ CCC. This year they plan to make 100,000 bricks.

Innovation and experimentation is at the heart of what Tate and Lyle Sugars does. Their long-term ambition is for their CCC to be used extensively, beyond bricks, and over the years they’ve worked closely with the Government and academica to achieve this goal.

 “Sustainability is a force for good in the production of food, and as a business, we are strong believers – and practioners – in sustainability across our entire supply chain. We take care of the environment – from cane field to consumer – by maximising resource efficiency, and encourage our suppliers to do the same. This includes targeting zero waste to landfill as well as reducing our water and energy usage.

“Ambition 2025 is an expression of all of this and more, and we will continue to work hard and innovate to ensure our entire food system becomes more sustainable in the future.”

John Kerr, Vice President, Research and Technology, Tate and Lyle Sugars

View Ambition 2025 Progress Report.