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By Alex Giacchetti, President and Managing Director of BioHiTech Europe.
INDUSTRY COMMENT BSEE ‘ On‐site
bio‐digestion technology separates and disposes of food waste at source, diverting it from landfill, reducing carbon emissions, and providing objective data on the types of food waste being generated.
’
hile many new buildings in the UK are specified to have exemplary green credentials, typified by sustainability initiatives such as BREEAM ratings, existing private and commercial properties often don’t perform to the same standards. When planning for retroactive refurbishment works to bring under-performing buildings in line with the UK and European sustainability agendas, the key for building services professionals and specifiers is to look for innovative, cost effective ways to overcome specific environmental challenges. This is increasing the pressure on facilities managers to find new ways to reduce vehicle movements on site and to find more efficient ways to recycle waste, and divert as much waste as possible from landfill.
When looking at food waste in particular, according to figures from the Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP), 3.4 million tonnes of waste is disposed of in the UK food sector every year – of which 600,000 tonnes is food waste. Sending food waste to landfill is environmentally unsustainable and increasingly costly for companies, whether retail, hospitality or foodservice; in fact, landfill tax is set to increase in early 2018.
New on-site waste measurement and disposal technology is now available. Solutions such as the BioHiTech Eco-Safe and Revolution Digesters break down food waste on-site, disposing of it via the sewers quickly and responsibly, reducing the need for traditional waste collection solutions and significantly improving recycling rates thanks to the removal of food waste from general waste. It’s increasingly beneficial to look for disruptive waste management solutions at the specification phase – as a way to enable a new build or
Greener buildings and food waste W
refurbished property to take direct control over the organisation and management of its waste streams. Plus, there is the added benefit of an existing building potentially qualifying for BREEAM recognition, through the BREEAM In-use environmental assessment and certification programme.
Let’s focus on food waste
On-site bio-digestion technology separates and disposes of food waste at source, diverting it from landfill, reducing carbon emissions, and providing objective data on the types of food waste being generated.
The clean-tech solution utilises natural microorganisms to digest food waste and convert it into nutrient-neutral liquid effluent that is discharged through the standard sewer line. BioHiTech solutions are equipped with cloud connectivity to measure key metrics and produce accurate volume and environmental reports that help businesses understand what kinds of food are being wasted and how much it costs so appropriate action can be taken.
Tapping into Big Data can also allow for remote diagnostics and repairs of waste recycling equipment – bringing down the number of technician visits and subsequently limiting any downtime that might impact trading. The need for businesses to be more sustainable while reducing costs and improving recycling rates is driving more informed decisions to be made about green technology’s role in building services.
In fact, BioHiTech’s solutions are already being specified at the design phase of new-build or refurbishment projects – highlighting the fact that combating the food waste dilemma is imperative
for businesses, especially for restaurants, hotels and shopping centres, given their high footfall. Achieving high BREEAM ratings requires energy efficiency and low carbon technology to be installed as standard. BioHiTech’s smart solution to food waste can enable buildings to attain the BREEAM points needed to qualify for the higher ratings – a requirement many environmentally conscious companies now ask of their properties. Reducing waste and minimising carbon emissions is a paramount concern for businesses in all sectors. The BioHiTech range is just one example of a disruptive solution to one kind of waste – and it demonstrates how embracing clean-tech can help UK businesses to save money and grow revenues, while improving the overall operating efficiency of commercial buildings in the short and long-term.
www.biohitech.com
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BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER OCTOBER 2017 21
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