The MWRD of Greater Chicago & breweries Goose Island, Revolution Brewing, & Half Acre partner with 1212 Environmental.
Local businesses encouraged to lower carbon footprints and protect the water environment
CHICAGO, IL., U.S.A., October 10, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The MWRD of Greater Chicago (MWRD) has begun an enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) program & is seeking high strength organic materials (HSOM) to make it effective. They have partnered with 1212 Environmental, which specializes in fully managed waste reduction & recycling programs, to deliver the HSOM to the MWRD. Rather than haul waste miles away to l&fills & dumping grounds, area breweries & companies are discovering a local destination to send it to at the MWRD for a beneficial re-use that protects regional waterways from unwanted nutrients.Local breweries, including Goose Isl& Beer Company, Revolution Brewing & Half Acre have partnered with 1212 Environmental to deliver spent yeast to the MWRD. The spent yeast will promote the MWRD’s resource recovery model as a tool for the MWRD to improve & stabilize the EBPR process during water treatment. This process will lead to increased phosphorus recovery & cleaner waterways & allow local businesses a chance to partner with the MWRD to keep their waste hauls local & serve an integral role in protecting the environment.
The MWRD is accepting trucked wastes at its Stickney & Calumet water reclamation plants via authorized organic materials delivery companies such as 1212 Environmental.
“This is a major victory in protecting our water environment & for local businesses looking to do their part in lowering their carbon footprint,” said MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos.
What makes the liquid waste from breweries & sugary & starch liquid wastes special for the EBPR process is the readily biodegradable carbon that serves as food for the phosphorus accumulating organisms that work under anaerobic & aerobic conditions in the secondary treatment. These organisms work to remove organic material from wastewater & to recover more phosphorus than normal microorganisms.
MWRD officials believe this will lead to significant increases in the amounts of fertilizer produced at the recovery facility that can be marketed to agricultural producers bringing a return on investment. Equally as important, this recovery will lead to less phosphorus in waterways downstream that could contribute to algae blooms & hypoxic conditions as far away as the Gulf of Mexico.
Goose Isl& Assistant Brewery Manager Ian Hughes said: “Goose Isl& got involved with the MWRD’s Bio-P program to enhance their innovative resource recovery program & to support their vital goal of protecting regional water quality. We have a vested interest in clean water because it is one of the most important ingredients we use for making beer.”
“That being said, we were excited to create an innovative byproduct synergy with our wastewater regulator by diverting our spent yeast from the drain & sending it directly to the MWRD for use in their phosphorus removal & recovery program. It is a win-win partnership as we decrease the strength of our brewery wastewater, find a new life for our ‘waste’ byproduct, & in the process we support the MWRD’s exciting resource recovery efforts.”
The MWRD is accepting non-hazardous HSOM containing elevated concentrations of chemical oxygen dem& (COD) concentrations of 75,000 mg/L or above. Examples of acceptable HSOM are food processing, brewery, restaurant & sugary/starchy wastes which are homogenous liquids, or slurries high in organic content that are typically too concentrated to be disposed of by discharge to the sewer system. Spent yeast, grains & hops are examples of wastes that breweries can deliver to the MWRD. Such trucked materials would not be subject to provisions of the MWRD’s User Charge Ordinance.
“We thank Goose Isl&, Revolution Brewing, Half Acre, North Branch Environmental, & 1212 Environmental for their participation & commitment to the local environment,” said MWRD Commissioner David J. Walsh. “This is an exciting opportunity for the enhanced biological phosphorus removal process. We are not only protecting our water environment but becoming pioneers in an emerging field of water treatment & resource recovery & providing a return to taxpayers & the environment.”
For more information or interest in participating, contact 1212 Environmental at 630-529-0240 or at ryan@1212environmental.com, or the MWRD at (312) 751-3044 or at BioP@mwrd.org.
Documents required for enrollment can be downloaded from the MWRD’s website at www.mwrd.org, under Services & Facilities > Business with Us > Resource Recovery.
1212 Environmental & North Branch Environmental are a division of 1212 Group,LLC.
Ryan McGuire
1212 Environemntal
630-529-0240
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