Katherine Hyde

The value of resource efficiency in the food industry: a waste minimisation project in East Anglia, UK

Abstract Waste minimisation can be as successful in the food and drink industry as in other industries often seen as more polluting. £1.1m was realised in annual savings by 13 companies in the East Anglian Waste Minimisation in the Food and Drink Industry Project, which exceeded the Project investment of £412,000 plus the £335,000 invested by companies in cleaner technologies. The 13 food and drink companies annually reduced: raw materials use and solid waste production by 1400 tonnes; CO2-emissions by 670 tonnes; and water use by 70,000 m3. Significant amounts of food grade material are rejected from the production line for their unsatisfactory quality. This can be for visual, physical, microbiological or compositional (chemical or biochemical) reasons. The reduction in the use of raw materials carried the greatest potential for financial savings. This reduction at source approach exceeded the corresponding savings in landfill costs by more than two orders of magnitude. This reinforces the importance for companies to identify opportunities for source reduction rather than end-of-pipe solutions and the relatively low cost of disposal for the food and drink industry. Minimising the packaging of food products presents an opportunity as well as considerable challenges to the food and drink industry as the main concern in the supply-chain is for food safety. Initiatives to reduce electricity and water consumption and to improve effluent quality did not individually carry the same potential for costs savings as the other areas. Consequently, these potential savings were given a lower priority within the companies. However, many electricity, water and effluent initiatives were implemented by fairly simple means and led to substantial savings. Changes in technology brought significant savings in manpower, as well as for materials and utilities. These savings are controversial in sustainability terms and attention has to be focused on ensuring that increased efficiency creates alternative work for people, as well as for equipment. Procedural changes often focused on auditing, material handling and staff training, and with low associated capital cost, these proved to be keys to success. The results from the Project have shown that there is a great potential for more sustainable production and consumption systems simply through improving dialogue between producers, retailers and consumers.

The challenge of waste minimisation in the food and drink industry: a demonstration project in East Anglia, UK

Abstract Waste minimisation in the food and drink industry leads to many of the improvements demonstrated in other sectors—energy efficiency, reduction of raw material use, reduction in water consumption and increasing reuse and recycling on site. Such improvements in environmental performance produce a directly beneficial effect on the profitability of business. The East Anglian Waste Minimisation in the Food and Drink Industry Project has demonstrated that significant amounts of food-grade material are rejected from the production line for their unsatisfactory quality, whether visual, physical, microbiological or compositional (chemical or biochemical). The Project has demonstrated that waste reduction of 12% of raw materials can be achieved and that this makes significant contributions to company profitability by improving yields per unit output and by reducing costs associated with waste disposal. Evidence also shows that there is potential for further improvements through improving dialogue between producers, retailers and consumers. The East Anglian Waste Minimisation Project has demonstrated that the packaging of food products presents considerable challenges to the food and drink industry. Significant opportunities exist for modifying both primary and secondary food packaging. However, whilst packaging requirements principally consider health and safety, the demands of the major supermarket chains and consumers have taken little or no account of criteria designed to meet the wide-ranging demands of waste minimisation. Optimising the opportunities for waste minimisation in the key areas of putrescible wastage and packaging, and improving consensus and dialogue are essential catalysts between purchasers, including both consumers and the major supermarkets, and between food producers and manufacturers. These food and drink sectors must identify the process options that result in a lower waste burden, pursuing contractual agreements that reinforce and support the selection of such options.

Minimizing material flows and utility use to increase profitability in the food and drink industry

This paper, and the project it describes, identifies opportunities that food and drink companies can take to simultaneously cut costs and reduce waste production. All savings from a waste minimization project can be expressed as savings in raw materials, manpower, energy consumption, packaging, consumables, water and effluent. The project showed that savings in raw materials carried the greatest potential for financial savings. The saving in reduced disposal costs was proven to be insignificant for the companies in comparison to the savings due to increased raw material yield. This confirms the importance for food and drink companies of looking for reduction of waste at source rather than end-of-pipe solutions. Cost saving opportunities stemming from electricity and water usage and effluent generation did not individually carry the same potential as the other areas, but a large number of smaller initiatives were easily implemented, which led to substantial aggregated savings.

Uncertainty Assessment of Comparative Design Stage Embodied Carbon Assessments

The embodied carbon of a material cannot be known deterministically. It is perhaps more accurate to speak of estimating, rather than calculating, embodied carbon. Uncertainty can be thought of as a consequence of this imperfect knowledge. The complexity and variability of supply chains and production processes, variations in the scope and boundaries applied, and the source, age and quality of data used all introduce uncertainty to an embodied carbon estimate. This applies both at the product and the building levels and makes it difficult to compare studies. At the design stage, uncertainty introduces the risk that a particular design choice, intended to reduce emissions, may not achieve the desired level of carbon abatement. To date, these uncertainties have either been dealt with only very superficially or, in many cases, simply ignored.

Monitoring Drainage Water Quality During Green Roof Irrigation Trials Using Synthetic Greywater

Aims: To evaluate the potential for substituting green roof mains water irrigation by irrigation using lightly loaded synthetic greywater. Study Design: The planted green roof system was designed to be operated and tested within a glasshouse. Place and Duration of Study: Schools of Engineering, and Plant Sciences, The University of Reading, for 28 days commencing 28th of May 2012. Methodology: A trial was conducted for comparing two planting schemes using Sedum and Stachys Byzantina and a third unplanted control. The three sets of growing boxes were subdivided between substrate depths of 10cm and 20cm. By further subdivision, half of each set were watered using mains water, and half using a synthetic greywater. The soil composition and water quality of the drainage (filtrate) water were monitored. Statistical analysis of the results was conducted. Results: Consistency was observed in influent pH and EC, in both mains and greywater samples. Influent Na concentrations were higher in the greywater samples due to detergent content. The Na mass balance calculations for all boxes showed that some Na mass was unaccounted for when comparing aggregated concentrations in influent, plant tissue and soil with the aggregated Na mass in filtrate, plant tissue and soil water. It was concluded that this was likely to be due to retained/ponded irrigation water in the boxes, difficulties in attaining homogenous box flushing and the underestimation of soil Na. The variation in substrate depth affected all results. The plants themselves seemed to have little significant influence on the measured parameters, with the exception of the accumulation of Na mass in plants irrigated with greywater. Conclusion: No improvement was observed in the quality of the greywater following filtration through the soil matrix. For longer term watering using greywater, a choice of Na resistant species should be considered, although the Sedum species used in this trial showed no recorded adverse growth effects due to Na accumulation.