Water Use
Recycling Water
Another way in which we manage water sustainably is by re-using and recycling as much water as possible in our production processes.
We already have a number of recovery systems at our sites to ensure that water is re-used in different ways. It can, for example, be re-used to clean and rinse equipment before starting production of a different flavour of drink.
In Sidcup during 2006, we introduced a system to recover water after it has been used to rinse empty cans. This water is now re-used to cool our pumping equipment, saving over 600 cubic metres per week. Over a year, that’s enough water to fill more than 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Treating Waste water in Wakefield
The Government’s Waste Strategy for England 2007 encourages the use of ‘anaerobic digestion’, a process that prevents food waste from being sent to landfill and creates renewable energy in the process. We’ve been using similar technology to treat liquid waste or effluent at our manufacturing site in Wakefield since 1989.
At Wakefield we have an anaerobic pre-treatment plant that reduces the ‘strength’ of our effluent by up to 90% before it’s discharged – a process that greatly reduces demand on the municipal wastewater treatment works.
The facility is capable of handling up to 450 million litres of effluent per year and treats sugar, fruit products and other waste materials within the effluent. Methane gas is then collected and is used to supply energy to support the treatment process.
