The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (“U.S. Poultry”) announced in a September 16th news release that it has awarded 2021 Clean Water Awards to Tyson Foods (“Tyson”).
U.S. Poultry states the awards are:
. . . presented annually to poultry facilities that go above and beyond in their commitment to sustainable wastewater treatment and water reuse.
Winners are stated to be chosen by a committee that includes:
- Industry engineers
- University personnel
- Industry media
The Tyson facilities receiving awards are located in Nashville, Arkansas, and Berryville, Arkansas.
The Nashville facility was selected as a winner in what is described as the “Full Treatment Category.”
This encompasses plants that treat wastewater in accordance with Clean Water Act National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits. A facility must have a minimum of two years of no significant non-compliances or notices of violation or any other type of enforcement action to be eligible.
The Nashville facility is stated to generate an average wastewater flow of 1.2 million gallons per day, process 200,000 birds per day, and produce 1.6 million pounds of cooked product per day. Its wastewater is stated to be treated to discharge levels that are an order of magnitude below the permit limits. Further, it is stated to have received a UL certification for achieving Zero Waste to Landfill in 2021.
The Berryville facility was selected as the winner in the “Pretreatment Category.”
The Pretreatment Category includes facilities that discharge treated effluent to a publicly-owned, full treatment facility for further treatment. Again, to be eligible, a facility must have a minimum of two years of no significant non-compliances or notices of violation, or any other type of enforcement action.
The Berryville facility is stated to generate approximately 0.75 million gallons per day of wastewater and produce 716,000 pounds of cooked chicken. The news release notes that despite:
. . . generating high-strength wastewater resulting from the production of numerous marinated and further cooked products, the wastewater treatment plant treats the wastewater well below the permit limits established by the public wastewater treatment facility.
In addition, an oil filtration system is stated to allow the facility to reduce the amount of oil entering the wastewater treatment plant. Filter cake produced by the filtration system is stated to be recycled as a source of animal feed ingredients.
The Tyson Dardanelle, Arkansas, facility received an “honorable mention with distinction” award in the full treatment category. In addition, Pilgrim’s Pride in Gainesville, Georgia, was recognized with an “honorable mention with distinction” award in the pretreatment category.
U.S. Poultry describes itself as an “All Feather Association progressively serving its poultry and egg members through research, education, communications and technical services.” The trade association was founded in 1947.
A copy of the news release can be downloaded here.
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