m
ENVIRONMENTAL SUS TA INABILITY
Waste water treatment
NO ON-SITE TREATMENT,
DISCHARGED INTO SURFACE
WATER 32
NO ON-SITE TREATMENT,
TREATED AT MUNICIPAL PLANT 26
ON-SITE TREATMENT
DISCHARGED INTO SURFACE
WATER 27
ON-SITE TREATMENT AND
TREATED AT MUNICIPAL PLANT 15
water-treatment plants at all existing breweries
where waste water is discharged untreated, most
of which are in Africa. All new breweries, such as
the brewery at Ama (Nigeria) which opened in 2002,
have their own treatment plants. The programme
has suffered some delay.
Even after treatment, waste water still contains
contaminants including organic matter, nitrogen,
phosphates and suspended solids. A widely-used
measure of this contamination is the chemical oxy
gen demand (COD).
Compared with 2002, the specific COD load pre
sented by the untreated waste water discharged by
our breweries was 2.5 per cent lower at 1.2 kg per
hectolitre of beer produced. Advances have been
made, for example, by reducing the amount of yeast
discharged by our breweries at Kaduna and Ama
(Nigeria) and Thessaloniki and Patras (Greece). Better
monitoring and more accurate measurement have
also been a factor in this improvement. Over the same
period, the specific COD load presented by the waste
water discharged by our maltings increased by 4 per
cent to 4.3 kg/tonne, mainly due to an increase in
the volume of organic material removed from barley
in Ruisbroek (Belgium), following a change of grade.
The level of organic contamination normally fluctu
ates a little from year to year. The COD load associat
ed with soft-drink production remained practically
unchanged at 0.3 kg per hectolitre of soft drinks. The
total COD load presented by untreated waste water
in 2003 was 106,600 tonnes, an increase of 7 per cent
on 2002, largely reflecting production growth.
After treatment, 21 per cent of the total COD load,
or 22,500 tonnes, was discharged into surface water,
a slight improvement on 2002 when 23 per cent was
discharged after treatment.
3.7 Raw materials used in brewing
Brewing is a natural process in which the main ingre
dients are malt, water and hops. Malt is produced in
maltings by steeping, germinating and drying barley.
Beer can also be made from other grains, such as
corn, rice or sorghum. Various consumables are used
within the production units, such as detergents and
disinfectants. Soft drinks are made from water, com
pound, sugar, sugar syrup and carbon dioxide.
Sustainable agriculture in the Netherlands
Heineken launches the Skylark Project
Raw material consumption 2003
by weight, excluding water
HAGGE DE VRIES
The Skylark Project is a joint venture
between Heineken International,
Agrarische Unie and twelve farmers,
which is working to develop sustain
able methods of barley production.
The project involves measuring a
range of indicators at the participating
farms, which will help the farmers
to improve the quality of the land,
air and water. From 2012, much of the
barley used by Heineken for brewing
beer will come from farms using
sustainable production methods.
MALT
SUGAR
SYRUP
CORN
SORGHUM
RICE
HOPS
BARLEY
TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
33
