Liberty Tire Recycling | 2022 Environmental, Social & Governance Report 12 OUR APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY At Liberty Tire, sustainability is integrated into our overall business strategy and our day-to-day decision-making. We understand that our company becomes more financially successful as we become more environmentally sustainable. In support of our sustainability goals, every dollar of free cash flow is reinvested into the business to continue improving our operations, collecting more tires, and moving tire-derived material to its highest and best use. During 2022, Liberty Tire made substantial improvements to our business by implementing various infrastructure and procedural enhancements, with the goal of moving rubber up the value chain. ` Process improvements in our Texas locations allowed us to increase the yield of used tires that were eligible for the used tire market. The most sustainable approach is to utilize these tires through their complete lifespan, rather than prematurely initiating the recycling process. ` The acquisition of Rubberecycle in Lakewood, New Jersey, brought several significant advantages to our overall business. The strategic location allowed us to transport tires, previously destined for West Haven, Connecticut, to a facility much closer to the tire collections, effectively reducing miles driven during transportation. By moving the manufacturing of several Rubberecycle products to our Godfrey, Illinois facility, we successfully eliminated the need for overseas production. This consolidation enabled us to optimize production in Godfrey, eliminate freight movements, and foster the advancement of more material up the value chain in the U.S. market, contributing to improved operational efficiency and sustainability in our business practices. ` Liberty Tire is committed to advancing its operations. Recently, we implemented automated packaging and palletizing systems in select molded goods and rubber mulch production facilities. These automation initiatives were specifically designed to replace manual and repetitive processes, and resulted in reduced employee injuries, improved production rates, and more packaging uniformity. This uniformity not only minimizes storage and transportation damage but enhances retail product merchandising for our retail partners. ` Our processing line for the SmartMIX™ asphalt solution was moved from an external location to our Jackson, Georgia facility. This eliminated the need for additional transportation and now enables us to process and produce the product in the same location. As these examples demonstrate, sustainability is ingrained in our business strategy, and we believe that what is good for the planet and good for our employees is good for our business.
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