Scottish meat processors waste water, says supplier

Scotland’s red meat processing sector could save thousands of litres of water each year, a Scottish non-domestic water supplier claims.

Water supplier Business Stream said that significant financial savings and 300l of water per animal can be saved every year by implementing simple water efficiency measures in the production plants.

The company analysed the average water used and compared the findings with the sector’s best practice usage, revealing that cattle processing uses an average of 1,000l for each animal processed every year.

Pig and sheep processing use an average of 230l and 150l of water, which can be reduced by 30% and 33% respectively by implementing water efficiency measures, the company claimed.

Business Stream chief executive Mark Powles said that red meat and poultry processing uses a lot of water and there is a real opportunity for the sector to lead the way in good water practice.

"It often only requires small, low-cost changes within an organisation for significant savings to be achieved, to the benefit of everyone. Our customers can do some of these themselves and Business Stream can help with the rest," Powles added.

The supplier offers a water benchmarking calculator that enables organisations to feed in their water consumption and see where they stand against industry peers and rivals.

This information can be used by Business Stream to provide recommendations for businesses in order to employ water efficiency measures and help them make significant financial and environmental savings.

Water management, from having a proper water distribution plan for the building to installing sub-metres to monitor usage of water at point-of-use, can help in reducing wastage, the company said.

Business Stream, established in 2008, is a supplier of water and waste water services to schools, supermarkets, corporations, manufacturing plants and maternity units across Scotland.

According to the company, it has achieved efficiency savings worth £19m for over 100,000 customers and saved 12,000t of CO2.