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Source
reduction and waste management alternatives in food processing
As landfill and wastewater treatment
costs increase, reducing and managing food processing
by-products can save your company money.
Source Reduction
The most effective method to reduce your disposal costs
is decreasing the volume of waste material and by-product
generated—source reduction. This is a good starting
point for reducing disposal costs. Source reduction
can be achieved in many ways, including:
- Dedicate mixing lines to specific products to reduce product loss and cleanup required for product change-over.
- Use dry cleaning methods, such as brooms and scrapers to clean floors and equipment, before using wet cleanup.
- Use high-pressure spray washes during cleanup.
- Minimize spills and leaks on the production line.
Management
Alternatives
After source reduction practices are in place, waste
management alternatives may be needed. For example,
use food by-products as animal feed, or for composting
or landspreading.
Animal Feed
Feeding food by-products directly to livestock allows
the by-products to be useful again*. It offers several advantages over composting
and landspreading.
- By-products may be fed to livestock
in their original form.
- By-products can be fed in liquid
and solid form to livestock.
- By-products can be fed year round.
Feeding is not limited by weather conditions.
*Note: Before any food material can
be used as livestock
feed, the livestock producer is required to obtain a
permit from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. To
request a permit application, call 651/296-2942.
For more information on feeding food
by-products to livestock see MnTAP’s fact sheet,
Feeding Food Processing By-products to Livestock [#67], available online.
Composting
and Landspreading
When feeding by-products to livestock is impractical,
both composting and landspreading the food waste are
alternatives. These methods degrade food by-products
into a useful soil additive called humus. Composting
degrades by-products above ground in a concentrated
area, and landspreading degrades by-products beneath
the soil in a cultivated field.
Composting. With proper management,
food by-products can be composted and added to the soil
at appropriate rates. Composting has the following benefits:
- Low transportation
costs. The by-products can be composted on site. The
resulting humus can have a volume and weight reduction
of up to 40 percent.
- Low capital
investment. Composting is a batch process that can
be done by using a mound or a windrow system. In both
systems the by-products are managed to accelerate
biological breakdown.
- Good for
seasonal processors. For a company that only processes
food for several months a year, such as a cannery,
composting may be a suitable alternative to animal
feeding or landfilling. Livestock producers may be
unwilling to switch to a livestock feed that is only
available for a short period.
- Long shelf-life.
Humus can be stored without spoiling and applied to
enrich the soil as needed.
Landspreading.
If your company has sufficient land, it may be able
to incorporate food by-products directly into the soil
on site. Or, a farmer can be paid to take the by-products
to a suitable field. With proper management, by-products
are used to enhance the soil.
Landspreading has the following benefits:
- A separate compost facility is
not needed.
- The finished product does not need
to be transported or stored. It is left in the soil as a plant
nutrient.
For more information about composting
and landspreading food by-products, see MnTAP’s
fact sheet Composting
and Landspreading Food Processing By-products [#78],
available online.
For More Information
MnTAP has a variety of technical assistance services available to help Minnesota businesses implement industry-tailored solutions that maximize resource efficiency, prevent pollution, increase energy efficiency, and reduce costs.Our information resources
are available online. Or, call MnTAP at 612.624.1300
or 800.247.0015 from greater Minnesota
for personal assistance.
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