Where Efficiency Meets Sustainability
Sustainability isn’t a buzz word at Worthy Park – it’s our way of life. Our commitment to zero-waste and total efficiency has guided many of the processes on the Estate, from how we grow our sugar cane to how we distil our rums. Our sugar factory has been rated #1 on the island for efficiency every year since 1968.
Single Estate Producer
Under Worthy Park’s closed loop system, we maintain control of all stages of production. From planting our own sugar cane and using 100% of our own molasses, to doing all fermentation, distillation, bottling and ageing on site. Being a Single Estate producer allows us the ability to reuse and recycle many of the ingredients we utilize to create our special rums, while also allowing us to conserve natural resources and ensure carbon emissions are returned to the soil via plant capture and field enrichment for further capture.
Land Stewardship (Cane Field)
Due to our sloped terrain, the majority of our fields are hand-cut, with mechanical harvesters cutting a maximum of 15% of the cane we crush. The process of hand cutting allows for maximum efficiency, with cane cutters able to extract more of the cane stalk than would a mechanical harvester.
We have also expanded every piece of our land to maximize crop yields, including through spatial efficiency and planting methods.
Sugar Factory
With the sugar industry in Jamaica faltering since the 1960’s, going from 18 factories in 1965 to just 2 factories in 2022, Worthy Park has emerged as the industry leader- being rated #1 on the island for efficiency every year since 1968.
Bagasse, the dry pulpy residue left after the extraction of juice from the cane, is used in the furnaces of the sugar factory to generate electricity.
We also use filter press mud (residue from the treatment of sugar cane juice) and fly ash (bagasse) back in the fields as soil ameliorants.
Distillery
Following the distillation process, we are left with a final byproduct known as Dunder. Disposal of concentrated sugarcane dunder in soils and water bodies is known to cause environmental issues, so our dunder is pumped to a treatment pond where it is cooled and stored before being used as fertigation in the cane fields at the appropriate level of dilution.
We also recycle the hot dunder through a heat exchanger in order to bring the fermented wash closer to the required temperature before it enters the pot-still, while simultaneously cooling down the exiting dunder.
Water
For cultivation, the only source of water is rainfall. For the factory, well water and water from the Murmuring Brook ‘Gutterwall’ are the main sources.
In our bottling operations, we have a system where rinse water for the bottles is filtered and recirculated through the system for at least three days before tanks are filled with fresh water. This helps reduce the quantity of water used for rinsing. This water is tested daily to ensure that all specs such as turbidity and pH are in range and safe for use to rinse bottles.
The steam created from sugar boilers/evaporators is re-condensed into water that we collect and recycle for further use.
