Using funds from the sale of used lead-acid batteries (ULABs) through the ICTSI Foundation, International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) donated a new single-storey library in Misamis Oriental in a bid to inspire a new generation of readers in the province.
Kindergarten and elementary students from Sta. Cruz Elementary School in Tagoloan town, part of Mindanao Container Terminal’s (MCT) immediate hinterland, became the latest beneficiaries of ICTSI Foundation’s “My Reading Nook” precast library rooms – fully-funded from ICTSI’s accumulated incentives in the Balik-Baterya program of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and car battery manufacturer Motolite.
The Balik-Baterya program (literally, return of batteries) encourages the return of ULAB wastes, which are then recycled and used for the production of new automotive and industrial batteries. To encourage more companies to donate batteries, Motolite buys the ULABs at a premium price. ICTSI’s proceeds are then redeemed through funds for CSR undertakings, being jointly implemented by the Foundation and PBSP.
With an extensive array of container-handling equipment and vehicle fleets, the battery recycling drive has been a crucial part of the company’s efforts to reduce, if not eliminate its environmental impact within its home operations. Since joining the program in 2011, ICTSI has turned over for recycling more than 68,000 kilos of ULABs, amounting to more than Php1.9-million.
As materials recovery and recycling programs keep getting more innovative by the day, the ICTSI Foundation hopes to use the funds from the recovery program to bring back the interest of the youth in reading through the My Reading Nook program. The program supports literacy thrusts in a variety of ways, including the construction or renovation of libraries, and providing them with age-appropriate reading and reference materials.
“We, on one hand, are systematically reducing negative impacts on the environment and on the quality of life in our ports, and to the extent possible for ICTSI, in the cities and communities that host our ports,” says Filipina C. Laurena, ICTSI Foundation Deputy Executive Director. “ICTSI will continue to become an on-ground partner in advancing the well-being and long-term interest of sectors and our host communities.”
