How Pepsi and Coke are Saving Water... it's easier thank you think?

A 2016 report by the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) had some promising news about how the beverage industry - companies that make pop drinks, beer, distilleries, wineries, bottling companies, etc., - are finding ways to save millions of gallons of water each year. And what is so surprising, most attribute it to something straightforward that we all can do… but more about that later.

The BIER report involved 1,500 global facilities in the beverage industry owned or operated by 19 different companies.  While the companies were not mentioned, we know they included some major brands - and major water users -  like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, MillerCoors, New Belgium Brewing, and Fetzer Vineyards. 

The study not only looked at water consumption but energy as well.  This is likely because there is such a close connection between water and energy.  The more water a facility uses, the more it costs to deliver and remove the water from the location.  In California, approximately 19 percent of the energy utilized in the state is just for moving and removing water. 

But these costs also go up when we figure heating the water.  While beverage companies now use a variety of different techniques to clean and sterilize the equipment they use, often this requires hot water. The more hot water they must use, the more energy they must purchase, adding to their operating costs.

Here is what the study reported:

Reviewing data for the years 2011, 2013, and 2015, 71 percent of the facilities in the study were able to reduce water consumption.  And as a result of this, 64 percent were able to reduce their energy use.

The report also noted that some companies, such as Pepsi, have been working to reduce their water consumption for more than a decade. From 2006 to 2016, Pepsi has reduced the amount of water they need to make their beverages by 26 percent and expects to bring this down another 25 percent by 2025.

So how are these companies reducing consumption? 

Apparently only fixing leaks in their facilities is at the top of the list. “We started with low-hanging fruit like fixing leaks,” says Greg Koch, global head of water stewardship for Coca-Cola.

Roberta Barbieri with Pepsi also listed fixing leaks as a major contributor in reducing their water consumption. This tells us all how important it is to fix leaks, in both homes and commercial locations.  However, with the leak problem addressed, how do these and other beverage giants plan on reducing water consumption? 

Among the steps they are taking now and in the future include the following:

•    Using ionized air instead of water to rinse bottles and beverage equipment

•    Installing recovery systems to collect water as well as reuse systems, to help recycle water so that it can be used for other purposes, from irrigation to using mechanical devices such as HVAC equipment

•    Implementing systems that use water more efficiently when it comes to agriculture, for instance, steps wineries can take to reduce the amount of water to grow grapes.

And while it was not mentioned in the report, many of these beverage companies have looked for other ways to reduce water consumption such as in their restrooms.  In many cases, low-flow restroom fixtures as well as no-flow fixtures, such as waterless urinals, are installed.  While this might not be true in a beverage facility, in many locations, more water is used in restrooms than any other area of the facility.  This is why it is invariably the first place to look when building owners decide to use water more efficiently.

For more information on ways to reduce consumption and use water more efficiently, contact a Waterless Co representative.

Revamped Thialf Ice Arena wins Design Award

A project to rejuvenate the Thialf Ice Arena in Heerenveen in the Netherlands has been awarded the German Design Award by the German Design Council. The revamp project was designed by ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects and Day Creative Business Partners. The new appearance of the arena itself was worked on by ZJA, while Day created the overall vision for all spaces included in the project.

A pair of glass ‘arms’ are designed, according to the architects, to “embrace the stream of visitors,” while an interior promenade connects the various elements of the facility. Serving points and public meeting points connect with the promenade, while a glass wall has been designed to increase the interaction between athletes and the public.

To continue to read more of this article at Stadia-magazine.com, click here.

Water Charge Increases Cause School Districts to Consider Going Waterless

Starting October 2017, people living in San Lorenzo Valley, southeast of San Francisco, will be paying far more for water.  The local water district has revamped its tiered charges, where property owners essentially paid for water based on their usage, to a flat rate, which will continue to go up year after year for at least five years.

So, this means that a homeowner, currently paying $65 per month, the average residential water bill in the Valley, will see their bill increase by 37 percent, approaching $90 per month.  By 2021, that statement will go up to $110 per month.

According to the water district, the increase is necessary to fund long-overdue infrastructure improvements.  This is happening in water districts all over the country. This means we can expect many more home and building owners will also see their water and sewer related charges take a big monthly jump.

As you can imagine, this rate increase in San Lorenzo Valley was not welcome news. Nor is it or will it be in other areas of the country when they find out their charges are also going up.  In the Valley, more than 3,000 people wrote protest letters.  “A number of individuals for justifiable reasons opposed the rate increase because they are on fixed incomes,” said Brian Lee with the local water agency. “Seniors come to mind first, and we recognize this is going to be a burden.”

But seniors are certainly not the only ones protesting.  The San Lorenzo Valley School District expects to pay more than $60,000 in increased charges starting in 2018, equivalent to an average teacher’s salary.  The school district is upset because unlike business owners and landlords, they cannot pass on these charges to anyone else.  In other words, it comes right out of the district’s operating expenses, leaving a big dent.

However, there is a bright side to this story, at least for the school district. They are now looking into a variety of ways to reduce water consumption, and one that is on top of their list is to transfer from water using to no-water urinals, better known as waterless urinals.

There are a number of reasons to consider installing waterless urinals, especially for a school district. First of all, the flush handles on water using urinals get a lot of abuse in public schools. Flush handle abuse often means the urinal keeps releasing water or releases too much water per flush, which is wasteful and costly.

Along with abuse, flush handles are often vandalized. Why they are such a favorite target, no one knows. But for school administrators, urinal vandalism along with damage flush handles not only may result in costly water being wasted, invariably the flush mechanisms must be repaired or replaced, which can also be expensive.

But here is the big reason the school district is likely considering installing waterless urinals. Each urinal can save more than 30,000 gallons of water per year.  Let’s say one Valley public school has ten waterless urinals installed.  That means more than 300,000 gallons of water can be saved. 

Very often, just by installing waterless urinals, water use reduction goals are met so that few other water reduction strategies are necessary.  This means water and cost savings are all possible, just by going waterless.

For more information on waterless urinals, contact a Waterless Co representative at 800 244 6364.