Cleaner Production
Case Study
Major players
working together
Cleaner production involves reducing
the consumption of raw materials
(including water and energy) and
reducing the volume and toxicity of
waste and other emissions.
Industry:
Poultry
Project partners
The businesses involved in this
cleaner production project were:
• Baiada Poultry
• Cordina Chicken Farms
• Inghams Enterprises
(Inghams focused on their
hatchery operations at Casula
in south-western Sydney)
• Red Lea Chickens
• Steggles Foods/
Bartter Enterprises
(Steggles Foods is a further
processing poultry producer
within Bartter’s processing
plant at Beresfield in the
Hunter region)
• Summertime Chickens.
This project was coordinated by
Dick Benbow & Associates.
With help from an environmental
consultancy, six of the largest
poultry businesses in NSW formed
an industry cluster, meeting together
over a two-year period.
The group selected six sites: one from
each business, with selection based on
choosing sites which would benefit most
from a cleaner production overhaul,
and which would provide the greatest
benefits in terms of group learning.
A cleaner production team was
established for each site. Staff were
encouraged to challenge ‘business as
usual’ thinking to generate fresh ideas
about how to improve performance.
Training workshops and site visits
were conducted to provide advice on
gathering data and identifying cleaner
production opportunities. On average,
the teams identified 42 initiatives per
site, and a wide range of these ideas
have been implemented.
According to Elaine Dickson of Baiada,
the project was ‘a great opportunity
to network and learn. This was my
first experience of seeing the industry
together in this way, and there was good,
open communication … we all shared
common issues.’
What did they do?
Environmental successes
This is one of a series of case studies
featuring companies that participated
in the Department of Environment
and Climate Change NSW $5 million
‘Profiting from Cleaner Production’
Industry Partnership Program.
NSW companies are discovering that
cleaner production not only protects
the environment but also reduces
operating costs, streamlines processes,
boosts profits and improves staff
engagement and morale.
Working with suppliers
Summertime, Cordina and Steggles
worked with their suppliers to
implement initiatives to reduce
packaging. After conducting a trial
with a major customer, Summertime
replaced non-reusable cardboard
cartons used for transporting chicken
products with reusable tubs. This has
yielded annual savings of over $60,000
and diverted over 38 tonnes of cartons
from landfill each year.
Cordina replaced product trays that had
to be shrink wrap-sealed with top-seal
trays, resulting in a 4.5 tonne reduction
in packaging used each year.
Working with chemical suppliers,
Cordina and Red Lea optimised
chemical use by improving
application methods and switched to
environmentally preferred alternatives.
This has reduced the toxicity of the
wastewater from the cleaning process.
Red Lea installed a unit which applies
chemicals as foam and controls their
application during equipment cleaning,
reducing chemicals used in the cleaning
process by 20–25%.
Composting hatchery waste
Land filling of Inghams hatchery waste
was expensive, and its liquid content
and pick-up timing were causing
odour problems in summer. By storing
hatchery waste in a silo and removing it
for composting each day, Inghams has
reduced the risk of odour problems or
stormwater contamination. Composting
has saved $145, 000 in annual waste
disposal costs and diverted 410 tonnes
of waste from landfill each year.
Reducing water usage
By installing meters on water lines and
recording daily meter readings, Steggles
identified opportunities to save water.
For example, a system for cooling gas in
an oven exhaust biofilter was identified
as a high-use area. Recycled water was
being used to cool the air continuously.
By fitting an automated valve, water is
now used only when the temperature in
the biofilter exceeds 80°C. The quantity
of wastewater treated on site has
reduced by 13. 5 ML a year.
Inghams installed flow-restriction
trigger nozzles on all cleaning hoses.
The nozzles, which are permanently
attached to the hoses, restrict the flow
rate of water from 13 to 10 L/min while
maintaining the appropriate pressure.
The nozzles have a trigger mechanism
which also helps to reduce water use.
Using the new nozzles has cut water
usage by approximately 350 kL
a year, a 23% reduction.
Left: Each flow-restriction hose nozzle
saves Inghams 3 L water per minute.
Right: Steggles has replaced cardboard
cartons with reusable plastic tubs.
Front page: Inghams hatchery has saved
$145,000 a year in waste disposal costs by
composting hatchery waste.
Reducing energy consumption
Cordina installed variable speed drives
on its condensers and implemented an
ongoing leak detection and correction
program for its compressed air system,
saving 292,000 kWh and $32,000 in
annual energy costs.
Summertime gradually replaced
fluorescent lighting ballasts with
electronic ballasts, providing an energy
saving of approximately 30% and
increasing lamp life by 50%.
Reducing fuel consumption
Cordina installed diesel filters on
all company-owned trucks, reducing
fuel consumption by 10%. This has a
payback period of just a few months
and will reduce the quantity of diesel
used by 18,000 L per annum.
Reducing waste to landfill
Several sites use plastic liners for
tubs used to transport chicken within
the processing facilities. For health
reasons the liners are used once, and
are then sent to landfill. By targeting
high-use areas and improving product
handling Baiada now uses half the
quantity of liners, with large savings on
purchasing and disposal costs. Red Lea
is investigating compacting and baling
devices, recycling of used tub liners and
the use of biodegradable liners.
Involving staff
Bringing staff together in teams and
conducting training workshops had
a positive impact on employee
enthusiasm and environmental
awareness. Before-and-after surveys
showed a significant shift in staff
attitudes to environmental issues.
‘We tend to assume someone knows
all about a particular thing, but they
don’t necessarily—each member of our
team learnt something. As well as the
cost savings there was a real change
of culture’ said Julia Seddon, Inghams
Environmental Engineer.
Benefits for the whole industry
By collating its data the group
established key performance
indicators for the whole industry, so
poultry companies can now evaluate
environmental performance against
industry benchmarks. The group also
developed a model Environmental
Management Plan (EMP) to provide
a framework for integrating ongoing
environmental improvement into
business processes. Several companies
have already used this model to
formalise their own site-specific EMPs.
‘The program allowed me to ‘take the
blinkers off’ so I could think about the
larger picture ... it gave us a practical
framework for assessing our efficiency
and reducing costs.’ Ian Whitelaw,
Casula Hatchery Manager, Inghams.
Why did they do it?
The group came together to explore
common issues and share the challenge
of applying cleaner production
principles to their operations.
What were the environmental and financial benefits?
One-off costs
Annual savings
Annual
environmental savings
$73,400
Energy and fuel $57,690
efficiency initiatives
440,600 kWh
446 tonnes CO2-e
Reduced water consumption and increased water recycling
$26,550
29.5 ML water
$66,300
7.3 tonnes raw materials
$13,560
Reduced raw material wastage $124,600
in addition to Red Lea reducing chemical use by 20–25%
Improved waste management $6,200
$208,400
Totals
$202,050
449.28 tonnes waste
diverted from landfill
$374,650
Where to now?
More information
With the momentum gained through
the cluster process, the involvement of
these major players will significantly
raise industry awareness of cleaner
production opportunities. Many of
the project’s participants have agreed
to continue working together on
environmental initiatives.
Department of Environment
and Climate Change NSW
Business Partnerships Section
Phone 02 8837 6000
cleanind@environment.nsw.gov.au
Published by Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW;
59–61 Goulburn Street, Sydney; Phone: (02) 9995 5000 (switchboard);
Fax: (02) 9995 5999; TTY: (02) 9211 4723;
Email: info@environment.nsw.gov.au; Website: www.environment.nsw.gov.au;
DECC 2007/408; ISSN 1445-2332; October 2007. Printed on recycled paper.