THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

OPPORTUNITY FOR

BOD SOURCE REDUCTION

Author; Alan Sheppard, Recovery Systems, September, 2009

1. Rising Costs of Treating B.O.D. Waste in Beverage Plants

A. Municipal Plants face maximum Capacity

Municipal waste treatment facilities are faced with the same budgetary

problems as all other government agencies. Therefore, they must look

for waste (BOD) reduction in other areas in order to cut costs and still

provide an essential service to the public.

In the past, beverage production facilities were charged a nominal

fee in order to deal with the sugar discharged into the sewage system.

However, the waste treatment facilities have opportunity to deal with

the waste generated by these production facilities. These discharge

limits have skyrocketed over the last 10 to 15 years due to old

technology that allows the treatment facilities to burden the amount of

sugar being discharged into the sewage system. These limits will

continue to grow as do the costs to treat the waste. Therefore, the

beverage production facilities will be faced with assisting the waste

treatment facilities, or look for alternative solutions in order to deal

with the problem.

EPA's Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP)

The 2008 MSGP regulates discharges of stormwater from industrial

activities. The MSGP includes requirements affecting 29 different

industrial sectors (PDF) (7 pp, 255K). The 2008 MSGP specifies steps

that facility operators must take prior to becoming eligible for permit

coverage, including submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI), installing

stormwater control measures to minimize pollutants in stormwater

runoff, and developing a stormwater pollution prevention plan

(SWPPP). The MSGP also includes effluent limits, monitoring,

inspection, and reporting requirements, and corrective action

requirements. View the general two-page fact sheet (PDF) (2 pp, 72K)

summarizing the final 2008 MSGP

SECTOR U: FOOD AND KINDRED PRODUCTS

U1 2041-2048 Grain Mill Products

U2 2074-2079 Fats and Oils Products

U3

2011-2015 Meat Products

2021-2026 Dairy Products

2032-2038 Canned, Frozen, and Preserved Fruits, Vegetables, and Food

Specialties

2051-2053 Bakery Products

2061-2068 Sugar and Confectionery Products

2082-2087 Beverages

2091-2099 Miscellaneous Food Preparations and Kindred Products

2111-2141 Tobacco

http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/sector_u_food.pdf

Details of Sector U

B. Nations Infrastructure Gap

C. Full Cost Pricing

Full cost pricing is a pricing structure for drinking water and

wastewater service which fully recovers the cost of providing that

service in an economically efficient, environmentally sound, and socially

acceptable manner, and which promotes efficient water use by

customers.

D. Costs of Plant Facility Treatment

Many production facilities have been forced to build their own

waste treatment facilities on site in order to deal with the waste before

it is discharged to the sewage system. These on-site facilities, while

effective; require a large amount of monetary funds to build power and

maintain.

Another answer may be to find the causes of the waste and find

solutions to deal with the problem at the source. This can be done, and

by dealing with the problem instead of the “after the fact solution”, can

be profitable to the facility.

2. Sources of B.O.D. Waste

The first items that must be addressed are the sources of the waste.

There are many areas that production facilities share as the cause for

most of the sugar being sent to the sewage system. We will identify

these areas and follow with solutions to prevent or collect the waste,

and find alterative methods to deal with the waste as a by-product

rather than an end of pipe problem of maximum limits being sent to

Municipalities.

A. Start-Up of a Flavor (Dump Filler)

The first issue is starting a new flavor of beverage at the blending and

filling equipment. Anytime a new flavor of beverage is started, the

blender and filler will retain water in the equipment from the previous

rinse. The new flavor will then be produced in the blender and sent to

the filler and will come up weak due to the collection of water. This is

commonly delt with by flushing the filler with approximately two bowls

of product to ensure that all of the residual water has been removed

from the blending and filling equipment. This product is sent to the

waste treatment facility. The blender and filler are then filled with

product and QA personnel can now take samples to the lab for testing.

B. Out of Spec Product

If the samples are determined to be within specification, the production

run can now begin. However, if the product is found to be out of

specification, (brix, assay or CO2 content), the product in the carbo-

cooler or product holding tank and filler will have to be dumped and all

of this product will be sent to the waste treatment facility. This issue can

also happen during the middle of the run. Due to mechanical failure, or

operator error, the product can go out of specification and the operator

will have no other choice but to dump the blender and filler, fix the

issue, and restart the production process.

C. End of Flavor Run (Matching Containers to Beverage)

Another issue that must be addressed in the filler room is the container

cut-off (matching the correct number of containers to the volume of

syrup and beverage). There are many factors that must be taken into

account when performing a successful container cut-off. The first of

which is the distance of the bulk syrup tank from the blender. Each bulk

syrup tank is a different distance from the blender in the filler room.

This distance is reflected by the length of piping between the bulk syrup

tank and the blender. The farther the distance, the longer the piping.

Most cut-offs are performed by (a) looking at a sight glass on the bulk

syrup tank, or (b) opening the bulk syrup tank door and having the

operator make an educated estimate as to how many gallons remain in

the tank. Once the operator estimates that the correct amount of gallons

are left in the tank, the syrup room operator will call the depal operator

and tell him/her not put on any more containers. This estimate of

gallons is further complicated by the distance of the piping to the

blender. If the supply piping from the bulk syrup tank is 3” in diameter,

the piping will hold approximately 1 gallon of syrup to every 4’ of

piping. The distance between the closest tank to the farthest tank may

differ by up to 200’ with all of the other tanks located somewhere in

between. This calculates to the number of gallons of syrup in the tank

needed in order to perform the cutoff, differing from the closest to the

farthest tank by 50 gallons. This means that the syrup room personnel

must include this calculation in every cut-off from every tank in the

syrup room.

Example: The closest tank will need 70 gallons of syrup to perform the

cut-off when syrup room personnel notify the depal operator to stop

putting on containers. The farthest tank will need 20 gallons of syrup in

the tank when syrup room personnel notify the depal operator to stop

putting on containers. All other tanks that are located between these

tanks will also have a different number of gallons needed in each tank in

accordance to the length of piping or volume of syrup held in the piping

between the tank and the blender.

The next factor that must be added into the cut-off equation is the ratio

of the syrup being blended at the blender. This ratio is the amount of

water that will be added to the syrup at the blending equipment.

Different syrups are blended at different ratios dependent upon blend

specifications set forth by the production facility. These blend ratios can

differ from a 4 to 1 ratio to a 6 to 1 ratio. This means that 100 gallons of

syrup in the bulk syrup tank, at a 4 to 1 ratio will produce 500 gallons of

finished product. This same 100 gallons at a 6 to 1 ratio will produce

700 gallons of finished product. There are many different ratios that

different syrups are blended at and this calculation must also be added

into the equation before notifying the depal operator to stop loading the

containers at the depal.

The size of the container being run must also be figured into the

equation. Most production lines run more than one size container. Many

run as many as 5 different size packages. The size of the container being

run must also be figured in, in order to perform a successful cut-off and

eliminate waste.

D. Packaged Out of Spec Product

The final major source of B.O.D. comes from product that is considered

out of specification, yet has already been put into the container. These

include lowfills, hold product or out of spec product, out of date product,

and closure failure. These containers must have the beverage extracted

and the container will then be recycled. This beverage will be extracted

and be sent directly to the waste treatment facility. This product can be

Collected, Contained, and Removed in a controlled manner.

3. Prevention

A. Accountability,

Without it, Sustainability is just a good idea.

An exercise comparing water use efficiency and waste water

discharge with production volumes, over time and against industry

standards is a fitting tool used for the prevention of B.O.D. waste. An in

depth survey of ALL water use and recommendations for savings

along with a performance confirmation program will bring you to the

implementation of the issues identified in the survey.

The use of a log in the syrup room as well as the filler room to track

B.O.D. waste would directly connect you to one of the main sources..

Anytime syrup is discharged to the floor of the syrup room or syrup or

beverage is lost in the filler room, a log should be kept to help the QA,

Maintenance and Production departments recognize potential problems

and solutions to keep the issue from reoccurring. This log can also be

used to better track syrup yields, recognize potential mechanical issues

and recognize potential personnel training issues.

Example 1: The carbo-cooler and filler are normally dumped on average

1 to 2 times per week, due to out of spec product. This week they were

dumped 5 times, again due to out of spec product. With the use of this

log this will give management the records needed to determine whether

there is a potential problem with the machinery, or if 4 out of the 5

dumps were all on one shift and the same operator was running the

machinery, there may need to be more training focused on the

particular operator.

Example 2: Syrup room personnel notice that a few gallons of syrup are

remaining in the bulk syrup tank or the pipe between the tank and the

syrup pump at the end of the run. This has been consistently reported

from the same tank. Maintenance personnel may want to check the

check valve above the syrup pump to make sure the Nitrogen or CO2

blow is not blowing syrup back into the tank or syrup supply line to the

pump. Maintenance personnel may also want to check the slope on the

piping between the bulk syrup tank and the syrup supply pump. If for

example a hanger has come loose and the slope of the pipe has been

corrupted, this will affect the drainage of the tank and therefore leave

gallons of syrup in the supply line. In either case the syrup that is left

behind will end up as B.O.D. waste when the CIP cycle is performed on

the tank. By logging the problem with the tank this will notify

management of a potential problem, and therefore calling attention to a

potential B.O.D. source.

Example 3: Filler room personnel are reporting that approximately 30

gallons of product are being dumped at the filler at the end of a flavor

run. This will alert management that there is a potential yield issue as

well as a potential B.O.D. issue. This issue could be a measurement issue

from the syrup room or possibly a depal issue. In either case the issue

will now be addressed and both yields and B.O.D. surcharges will be

reflected.

B. Product Recovery System (PRS) Reuse!!!

In the past, during the start-up phase of the flavor run, the blender

and filler would have to be rinsed with product to get rid of the residual

water left in the blender and filler from the previous rinse of the

previous flavor. This would result in approximately two to three bowls

of product being transferred to the filler and dumped to the floor. With

the addition of the Product Recovery System (PRS) to the production

line, this product can now be saved and reintroduced back into the

system with virtually 0 losses to the production facility. This is achieved

by collecting the weak product in the PRS, starting the production run

and micro metering the weak product back into the production stream.

This micro-metering of the product in the PRS is done by metering

such a small amount back into a large amount (the production stream)

that the weak product is brought back to within specification and barely

seen on the in line monitoring systems.

Another issue that must be addressed when looking at B.O.D.

waste and syrup yields is product that goes out of spec due to

mechanical or operator error (brix, assay or CO2 content) during

the production run. This previously meant dumping the carbo-cooler or

product holding tank and filler to the floor, rectifying the problem

and restarting the equipment. This would result in 200 to 300

gallons of product being sent to the floor and to the waste treatment

facility. With the PRS on the production line this product can now be

saved by putting the product into the PRS and again metering the

product back into the production stream once the production stream

has been restarted.

Example: If the blender produces 125 gallons of finished product per

minute with a brix of 10.50 and the PRS is holding product that is

at 80% strength or a brix of 8.4, and micro-metering 3 gallons per

minute back into the production stream, the in line monitoring system

will show a difference of. producing a brix of . This is well

within specifications and with a 0 loss to yields and a 100% gain

to B.O.D. recovery.

C. Syrup Recovery System (SRS) Reuse!!!

Earlier in topic 2 section d we discussed the different factors that

must be calculated into the equation in order to perform a successful

cut-off of containers to product. They consisted of the volume of syrup

in the syrup tank, location of the syrup tank in the syrup room or

volume of syrup held in the piping system from each tank, the ratio of

the syrup to water to be blended in the filler room and the size of the

container on the production line.

The SRS is a computer based system that networks the syrup room,

filler room and the depallitizer to achieve a successful cut-off within ¾

of a layer of containers. This computer based system eliminates the

need to know the volume of syrup in the syrup tank, location of the

syrup tank in the syrup room and the ratio of syrup to water to be

blended in the filler room.

The SRS acts as a syrup reservoir that consists of a 260 gallon tank

that sits next to the blender in the filler room. The reservoir is equipped

with a level transmitter that constantly monitors the amount of syrup in

the syrup system. The data base in the SRS computer system stores the

blend ratio and size of containers for all flavors that the production line

produces. At the end of the production run the bulk syrup tank is

allowed to run dry. The SRS will then notify syrup room personnel

that the tank is empty and syrup room personnel will initiate the

Nitrogen or CO2 blow from the syrup room. All of the syrup in the

piping system will then be blown into the SRS. The level in the SRS will

then fall to the designated amount of gallons of syrup for that particular

flavor and will automatically close the filler gate on the filler. The SRS

will then notify the depallitizer operator to load the empty container

conveyor until the conveyor is full. Once the conveyor is full, the

depallitizer operator will press an acknowledgement button that is

linked to the SRS computer system. The SRS will then open the filler

gate with an inventory of syrup, product and containers which will

result in a consistent cut-off and virtually no waste remaining in the

filler. This will eliminate most of the B.O.D. waste that is now being sent

to the waste treatment facility due to improper calculations and

resulting in missed cut-offs.

Another issue that the SRS will eliminate is air bubbles that are trapped

in the syrup during tank changes from one tank of syrup to another tank

of syrup of the same flavor. This is one of the leading causes for product

to go out of spec during the middle of the flavor run. When one tank of

syrup runs out in the syrup room and another tank is placed on line, air

bubbles are introduced into the piping system. These air bubbles will

eventually arrive at the blender as a light syrup and the brix ratio or

assay will drop. With the addition of the SRS on the production line this

is no longer a problem. As syrup enters the SRS the air bubbles rise to

the top of the syrup reservoir while good syrup is pulled from the

bottom of the reservoir. In essence, the SRS will purge the air from the

syrup and only pure undiluted syrup will be delivered to the blender.

B.O.D. waste is generated in some areas that cannot be prevented. In

these instances a collection system can be designed to capture this

waste and alternative sources are available in order to dispose of what

will now be referred to as a plant by-product. The first example of a

non-preventable B.O.D source is the rinsing of a bulk syrup tank after

sugar syrup has been run out of the tank. The first and second bursts of

rinse water from the CIP system can be sent directly to the collection

system. The remaining rinse can then be sent to drain with most of the

sugar residue being captured by the collection system.

The next 4 examples have to do with product that has been packaged

but is out of specification and must be destroyed. These examples

consist of low fills, hold product or out of spec product, out of date

product and closure failure packaging. All of these instances have one

thing in common; the beverage must be removed from the container

before the container can be compacted for recycling. This is commonly

done by sending the containers through a shredder or grinder. This will

remove the beverage from the container and allow the container to

continue to a compactor for recycling. The beverage will then fall to the

floor and be sent down the drain.

A modification can be made to the shredder or grinder by placing a

catch pan under this piece of machinery. The catch pan will also consist

of a pump, drain valve and a control switch which will be labeled sugar

and diet products. Sugar products will be destroyed separate from diet

products due to the fact that the diet products do not contain sugar.

During diet products the control switch will be switched to the diet

position. This will allow the diet product to go to the drain. During sugar

products the switch will be turned to sugar. This will turn off the drain

valve and the level in the catch pan will turn on the pump, which will

pump the sugar product to the collection system.

4. Alternative Disposal Options

A. Process Waste Containment & Collection System (PWCCS);

Controlled waste containment system for areas where all opportunity

for Reduce and Reuse will not apply, out of date product can be

Collected, Contained, and removed in a controlled manner.

Management Initiatives (i.e.: Waste Exchange …Remove and reduce

risk in one program. The risk of high surcharges and the risk of not

prepared to prove all product in production has a negative test

result for contamination under Food Defense Plan for unknown

pathogens.

B. Waste Treatment Facility… Reduce!!!

C. Pollution Prevention Waste Minimization Initiatives (i.e.:P2,

…Reuse!!!

D. EPA’s Sustainable Water Infrastructure Initiative, Fees

E. Status Quo

5. Responsibility;

A. Sustainable Performance Tracking Team (SPTT)

An option to have controlled start ups, cut offs,, and accidental spills and

the actual facts surrounding them accessible via Ethernet and tied to the

production schedule times or through a specific operator to evaluate daily

and/or weekly shifts. This operator will be designated responsible for this

prior to implementing any or this entire program. As a liaison with company

coming into each facility this is Key to the success of this whole program.

Being such a key point person, designee must be selected in cooperation

with SPTT Leaders and given responsibility from regional or corporate

representative.

Benefit of tracking “What Gets Measured May Get Prevented:

B. Water Foot printing Water footprint accounting ;

Blue water

Green water

Grey water

The grey water footprint is the volume of polluted water,

calculated as the volume of water that is required to dilute

pollutants to such an extent that the quality of the water

remains above agreed water quality standards.

it is possible to reduce a company’s water footprint through

pollution prevention and water reuse

**Conservation 6.Sustainability/ Responsibility; A. Product Stewardship An expression of the responsibility that designers, suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, consumers/users, disposers are undertaking on to help conserve resources, reduce waste, and

ensure that products are used properly in order to protect human health and the environment.

B. Source Reduction and the Benefits of P2,Reduce&

Reuse

Products that enter the waste stream have energy impacts (and

associated GHG emissions) at each stage of their life cycle.

These life cycle stages include:

Acquisition of raw materials Manufacture of raw materials into products Product use by consumers Product disposal

Waste reduction practices, such as reuse and recycling, reduce the

demand for raw material and energy inputs to the manufacturing stage

of the life cycle, thereby conserving energy and reducing GHG emissions.

The energy savings associated with recycling are driven largely by the

difference between manufacturing the material using virgin inputs and

manufacturing the material using recycled inputs.

Recycling of waste has a substantial potential for reducing overall

greenhouse gas emissions and conserving energy use. In 2003, the

United States recycled 30.6 percent of the municipal solid waste (MSW)

it produced. As part of its effort to encourage recycling, waste reduction,

and GHG reduction, the EPA has set national recycling goal of 35 percent

by 2008 and has proposed a goal of 40 percent by 2011.

Using EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM)—a model that was

developed to help solid waste planners and organizations track and

voluntarily report greenhouse gas emissions reductions waste

management practices – EPA calculated the projected incremental

benefits of these goals. The current rate of 30.6 percent gave GHG

benefits in 2003 of 49 MMTCE (million metric tons of carbon

equivalents) and energy benefits of 1.5 quadrillion Btu saved can be

compared to a baseline of no recycling. These calculations assume land

filling 80 percent and combusting 20 percent of MSW not recycled (the

national average rates). Increasing the rate to 35 percent would give

GHG benefits in 2008 of 57 MMTCE and energy benefits of 1.7

quadrillion Btu saved. The benefits in 2011 of a 40 percent recycling

rate would be 65 MMTCE and 1.9 quadrillion Btu.

C. “Resource Conservation Challenge” Purpose at the RCC, This Strategy describes the RCC's direction, focus, vision and broad goals. It is the key to establishing the path along which the RCC will continue to grow. The RCC will grow from a collection of individual, ambitious projects and achievements into a cohesive set of robust programs. These programs aim to identify opportunities for, and ways to achieve, pollution prevention, recycling, reuse, toxics reduction, and energy and materials conservation. Build on current partnerships and attract new partners; and Describe the measures used to track success for future projects.

D. **Water Sector Coordinating Council (WSCC) Cyber Security Roadmap Developing and deploying control system security programs Assessing Risk Developing and implementing risk mitigation measures Improving partnership and outreach

In support of attaining these goals, the Roadmap list Milestones. Including; isolating control systems from public switched networks and developing a cyber response protocol template for operator control

system security program and the adopting of best practices for cyber security in the Water Sector/Wastewater The Water sector utilities In collaboration with the Water Environmental Research Foundation (WERF) and AWWA Research Foundation (AWWARF) are currently under way to integrate the national recommended Roadmap implementation for resilience and response/recovery of industrial control systems in order to maximize the impact among the water / wastewater utilities

7. “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009” ** Denotes equipment and/or programs to meet

requirements for hazard analysis and risk-based preventative controls. A Deliberate Indifference to Foreseeable Risk. Homeland Security Law #H.R.2749

Sustainable Performance Tracking Program

A successful Sustainability Program will have the responsibility on a

daily basis the following responsibilities with our over site and provide

detailed documentation and records to identify and correct problems

that result in lost efficiencies and syrup yields.

In the past, when we showed up at the plant, there was no one that

assumed the responsibility of getting to the bottom of the problems that

the plant was experiencing. Therefore we were left alone to find

problems and diagnose a remedy. This wasn’t successful and will not be

successful due to the fact that no records were available to point anyone

in a direction to solve the problems that were being seen. The QC

manager and maintenance managers were busy in meetings and the

everyday responsibilities of their positions.

In order to put together a successful Sustainability Program there must

be a individual ( our pick ) that will handle the responsibility on a daily

basis. This person will assume the following responsibilities with our

over site and provide detailed documentation and records to identify

and correct problems that result in lost efficiencies and syrup yields.

1. The candidate will have a good knowledge and understanding of

all aspects of the production process. This will include pump-up, cut-off

and a good understanding of how the QC lab operates and the syrup

room operates.

2. The candidate will (with our help) write and maintain SOP’s for all

bottling lines.

3. The candidate will monitor all training procedures (to insure that

the SOP’s are followed to the letter) for new employees as well as old

employees.

4. All employees (QC, filler operator, syrup room operator and depal

operator) will be monitored by shift to identify potential training

problems. This will allow the candidate to identify problems such as low

yields with a shift and then focus on individual employees for potential

training issues.

5. All passwords will be changed on the SRS and it will be the

candidate’s job to maintain and certify all cut numbers are correct.

6. The existing software that the QC lab uses, will be modified for the

following reasons. The QC operator/ Key Person will document all

pump-up, cut-offs and anytime there is product or syrup dumped. This

information will consist of a check of success or problem issue, and if

there is a problem issue, a short list of potential problems of what the

operator thinks happened. This will give the candidate in-site as to

mechanical as well as operator error. (example: The sight glass before

the filler did not blow at the end of the run. This would be checked as a

problem issue. The QC operator would then check one of the following,

not enough containers, SRS cut number is too high, conveyor was not

sufficiently packed with containers or the syrup was cut incorrectly in

the syrup room. All potential problems would be cataloged to allow the

QC operator to simply check his or her best guess. This will give the

candidate the information needed to develop a pattern. The candidate

will keep records to find problems that occur consistently when certain

operators are at a certain position on the production line. This will give

him a direction to focus training or mechanical issues.

7. The candidate will be willing to change shifts as needed to identify

and correct potential problems, day or night, and provide

documentation to how the problem was addressed.

In order to set up a successful sustainability program criteria must be

agreed to by the customer:

WHY HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL TEAMS AND SUSTAINABILITY

MANAGERS?

Most businesses benefit from appointing Sustainability Managers to co-

ordinate and facilitate their Sustainable Performance Tracking Program for

resource efficiency. To maximize the impact of the program, the

Sustainability Managers must have the support and commitment of senior

management. Secondary to this is the support required from the project

team(s) in delivering the program.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE SUSTAINABILITY MANAGERS?

The key role of the Sustainability Managers is to co-ordinate and to facilitate

the Train the Trainer element of the SPTP - they are not required to

complete all the tasks by themselves. The Sustainability Managers should

act as the key focal point for communications, resources, action, programs

and training to create a program for success. They should also be able to

identify and appoint supporting team members as Certified Trainers.

It is likely that at the early stages of the program, the Sustainability

Managers will need to take the lead in collecting data on, for example, costs

and quantity reduction of raw materials, wastes and energy and use this to

identify the amount of recovered product as a new source of revenue along

with the constant monitoring in accuracy of container cut off on every run.

Data will lead team goals.

WHAT IS A TYPICAL SUSTAINABILITY MANAGERS’ PROFILE?

The size, nature and culture of a company all contribute to deciding who

should be the Sustainability Manager. Large companies typically appoint a

Sustainability Manager who is familiar with the staff, processes, and

technical, quality and environmental issues, for example, the Production

Manager, Site Engineer or Quality Manager. In smaller companies, the

Sustainability Manager is often the Line Supervisor or Quality Manager.

It is important to choose the right person to be the Sustainability Manager.

The key characteristics should be

enthusiasm for the role and willingness to learn

credibility at all levels of the company

Communication skills to maintain the Training the

Trainer resources and meetings to identify the need for retraining.

the ability to motivate staff, overcome barriers,

resolve problems and continue with progress in maintaining SOP’s and

system performance

The ability to communicate with staff and senior

management and provide feedback for retraining or to schedule for

complete Performance Training Program update.

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF TEAMS?

Only by ensuring that employees from all areas are involved, can a company

successfully integrate sustainable performance into its culture.

Ideally, teams should be cross-functional - people with different roles and

experiences will bring different skills and ideas, and will ensure a wider buy-

in to the program. Team work will also lead to the identification of ongoing

opportunities for cost savings.

WHY IS AWARENESS IMPORTANT?

Poor staff awareness on Sustainable Performance for resource efficiency is

common. It is important to raise awareness to stimulate staff participation

and encourage others to become involved. To raise awareness and get buy-

in, staff needs to be given the facts about the true cost of waste, how the

program applies to them as individuals, and the benefits of Recovery

Systems to the business as a new source of revenue and risk management in

avoiding waste stream full cost pricing associated with the national

infrastructure funding gap.

WHY IS MOTIVATION IMPORTANT?

Poor staff motivation is also a common barrier. A key role of the

Sustainability Manager is to motivate staff and ensure that people know the

reasons for changing the way they work. Ideas on the Sustainable

Performance Tracking as resource efficiency savings are often made through

employee feedback. Regular feedback to staff on progress will also aid

motivation. Incentive schemes can be extremely effective to improve and

drive motivation of all staff. The type of incentive is dependent on company

size and culture and could comprise a financial payment, small prize or

personal recognition

The difficulty lies not with

the new ideas, but in

escaping the old ones. . . .

John Maynard Keynes

Contact information; Alan Sheppard, Phone:843-224-9169,

www.beveragerecoverysystems.com Charleston SC, USA