Achieving environmentally responsible brewing operations.

Wornson, G.O.

Abstract
The work of the "Landfill Minimization Task Force", set up in 1990 by the Miller Brewing Company with the aim of removing the need to dispose of solid wastes from the company's breweries, is described. Where possible, wastes are eliminated at source (e.g. by insisting that suppliers of materials use refillable containers wherever possible). Wastes which cannot be prevented are either recycled or converted into saleable products. For instance, kieselguhr sludge is sold to manufacturers of compost and building cement, as well as being used as an ingredient in a fertilizer which also contains organic sludge from brewery effluent treatment plants. Fly ash from brewery heating and power generating furnaces is largely returned to mining companies to use in the landscaping of abandoned mine sites. Additional outlets for materials long accepted as usable by-products have been developed to supplement the conventional disposal routes (e.g. a product made from spent grains has been developed for the health food market to avoid exclusive reliance on the use of spent grains as animal feed).
Keywords : brewery by-product recycling