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Halving landfill costs by solving a truly humungus waste problem
A major food processor of vegetable products for the major supermarket chains, including ASDA and Sainsbury's, grows, prepares, cleans, grades and packs a wide range of vegetables prior to nationwide distribution.
Unsurprisingly, a large amount of vegetable waste and rejected produce is generated, which has to be discarded on a daily basis, normally being containerised and sent for disposal to registered landfill sites.
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The starting situation
However, disposing of surplus or reject bean sprouts (the humble mung bean) was creating a serious problem. The bean sprouts are grown from seed on site until they are ready for processing. The problem arose when, for whatever reason, there were surplus bean sprouts either before or after processing. As with so many vegetables, bean sprouts deteriorate rapidly within a few hours of harvesting and quickly become unfit for consumption, incurring handling, transport and high landfill costs in their disposal.
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The solution
"We knew there had to be a better way to handle this issue" said the processor's Production Director, "and, working with international specialist pump makers seepex, we're pleased to report we found one!" A seepex engineer visited the site and considered the options. His recommendation was to install a seepex BTM progressive cavity pump, a powerful example of precision engineering that accepts the surplus or reject bean sprouts into its hopper and then chops and reduces them before ultimately transferring them into a transporter.
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The benefits
"We were amazed to find we were reducing volumes by over 50%. What had been bulky waste was reduced to a shredded pulp, and also the high water content of the bean sprouts was being very effectively squeezed out. The process is quicker and less messy; we use fewer people and, of course, our landfill costs have been halved. We're delighted!"
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Key Facts
- "No-cost" environmental advantages
- Chopping and pumping in one unit
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Significant cost savings
- Labour cost savings
- Waste transport costs halved
- Landfill costs halved
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