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BEVSOLUTIONSI _PRODUCTIONJ

WASTE MANAGEMENT

With costs rising, a sound waste treatment plan can make good business sense.
By John Karolefski
nowadays. There is a national consensus for every ustainability is the hottest corporate buzzword industry to get involved in reducing waste and conserving natural resources. Beverage companies, largely because of their water needs, are especially on the radar of those promoting better waste management. "In the beverage industry specifically, there is a lot of consumer pressure around social and environmental responsibility," says Marcia Walker, program manager in strategic marketing for Rockwell Automation, a Milwaukee-based global provider of industrial automation power, control and information solutions. "For brand reputation, there is a lot of pressure for companies to perform in a more responsible manner within their communities." Coca-Cola Consolidated began deploying advanced technology that uses a UV filter-cleaning process. This makes flushing the system with water a necessity only once a month. "We're saving 1oo,ooo gallons a day at one facility," says Steele. The company also has converted all of its facilities to ionized air bottle and can rinsing. This process saves about 6,ooo gallons of water a day per line (the Charlotte facility alone has seven lines). In addi tion, all of the company's conveyor systems now run on waterless lubrication, sparing an additional 6,ooo to 8,ooo gallons per line, per day. Apart from water, the company recycles almost everything-strapping, cardboard and shrink-wrap film. They have even converted to crates and pallets made of recycled plastic. "We think about [waste management] every day," says Steele. "We have A Precious Resource environmental audits at Coca-Cola Bottling Co. every facility and have instituted weekly 'waste Consolidated, a frontrun' THIS REVERSE OSMOSIS UNIT is part of tthe v water purification process at walks' in which the envi ner in sustainability, was Coca-Cola Consolidated Bottling Co.'s Charlot te, N.C. production facility. ronmental team takes time thinking ahead of the curve eight years ago when it constructed a wastewater treatevery week to walk around, looking for ways to cut down on ment plant at its Charlotte, N.C. facility. The plant went on wasted energy and wasted water." to win an Environmental Excellence award. "Water is a preMiller Gets Creative cious resource for us," says Lauren Steele, spokesperson for Coca-Cola Consolidated. "It's the lifeblood of our product." Obviously, the more manufacturers produce, the greater To maintain high quality standards, Coca-Cola the burden of environmental responsibility rests on their collective shoulders. This is certainly true for Miller Brewing Consolidated first cleans the water and then runs it through a charcoal filtration system to strip away much of the solids. Co., which also is focused on reducing wastewater. Virtually nothing goes to waste: the solids taken out of the The brewer has lowered its water-to-beer ratio to less than water are recycled for fertilizer. 4:1, a reduction that is nearly two years ahead of a goal the Traditionally, the filters at beverage plants have been company set for 2010. Brewery wastewater is used in a crecleaned daily by flushing with lots of water. Two years ago, ative way-it is recycled to generate biogas at the company's
72_BEVERAGE WORLD JULY 2008 BEVERA6EWORLD.COM

Use It or Lose It

Irwindale Brewery and produces sufficient electrical capacity to power 50 average California homes. Also of note is the company's landfill waste reduction of 2.5 million pounds over the past five years. The company currently recycles 99.9 percent of all packaging waste. "I believe that our passion for sustainable developmentwhen harnessed into sharper, bolder and faster approaches-will only make us stronger in our industry and in our quest to live sustainably," says Tom Long, Miller wwv.siemen, Brewing president and CEO, in a written statement.

stand in the future on these issues? Walker of Rockwell Automation says US companies will probably follow a global lead since sustainability standards in Europe are the strictest. Beyond sustainability, it's a matter of simple economics. "With energy and water prices being the way they are, it makes good business sense," she concludes. BW

The C02 Factor

Beyond water, industry experts like Charley Rastle, CPG marketing manager at Rockwell, maintain that reducing carbon dioxide emissions also should be a priority. "A lot of that has to do with the heating processes that go on in a beverage plant and looking at more and more efficient ways to run the heating system," he explains. "That's something we are doing with customers right now, examining how they use steam in their plant because CO 2 is generated to heat the water to make the steam. If you have an inefficient steam process and are trying to heat up a liquid, you will use up more carbon dioxide. So you must reduce that." CO2 also is directly related to electric energy. A carbonated soft drink plant is basically a material transfer plant where you bring water in one side and you pump it through the plant to the other side. This requires lots of electrical usage. "Companies are now looking to reduce the amount of electricity they use for two reasons: first, because they want to be good corporate citizens and reduce the amount of CO2 emissions from the power plant; second, the costs are high," says Rastle. "A reduction in electrical usage will cime from better motor controls and better drives to run the pumps and compressors." Where will beverage companies
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TITLE: Use It or Lose It SOURCE: Beverage World 127 no7 Jl 2008 (C) Copyright (2001) VNU Business Publications, USA. All rights reserved. To contact the publisher: http://www.vnuemedia.com/