Resource efficiency in the UK cider sector

Case Study: UK Drinks Sector

Resource efficiency in the UK

cider sector

Reducing water, material and packaging use in the cider sector.

Resource efficiency in the UK cider sector 2

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Document reference: [e.g. WRAP, 2006, Report Name (WRAP Project TYR009-19. Report prepared by…..Banbury, WRAP]

Front cover photography: Stainless steel cider vats. Courtesy of NACM

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Contents

Contents .................................................................................... 3

Summary Review ....................................................................... 4

Packaging ........................................................................................ 4

Water use ........................................................................................ 5

Clean in Place (CIP) .......................................................................... 7

Waste water ..................................................................................... 7

Product loss avoidance ...................................................................... 9

Organic resource .............................................................................. 9

Conclusions .................................................................................... 10


Summary Review

The UK cider industry produces 9.4 million hectolitres annually.

A resource map that shows key inputs, the production stages

involved and waste and loss streams is below.

The cider industry1 has a large number of small-scale

manufacturers though large manufacturers are responsible for

a higher market share of product (over 70%2). Both large and

small-scale manufacturers can realise opportunities for

improvement through, for example, economies of scale and

developing closed loop solutions where production and

processing are co-located.

Key opportunities

281 tonnes of stretch-wrap conserved equates to a sector saving of

£400,000

A sector-led approach to light-weighting bottles

Reducing water use and recovering value from wastewater streams

Key opportunities to improve resource efficiency are outlined below.

Packaging

Cider is packaged in many formats including kegs, PET, cans and glass,

with 6.8 million hectolitres packaged for individual unit sale. Glass is

increasingly being used, for example premium brands tend to be

associated with heavy glass bottles, and this offers significant

opportunity for light-weighting. Some brands have made substantial

progress (such as Heineken UK reducing the Bulmers Original bottle

mass by 30%3, and Thatchers reducing bottle weight by 21% for a

range of ciders4), but this has the potential to be rolled out more widely

across the industry. Small-scale manufacturers purchase small volume

1 BBPA (2010) Statistical Handbook 2 Mintel (2008) Cider, Market Intelligence 2008 3 Heineken (2009) Environment at a glance 4 WRAP (2008) Light-weighting beer and cider packaging


bottles and therefore have less control over design; however, a sector-

led approach may offer greater opportunities.

There is typically less focus on secondary packaging than on primary,

though savings are often more easily achieved here. Stretch-wrap is

used across all sectors to stabilise pallet loads, yet little attention is

given to efficient usage, resulting in excessive plastic consumption.

Within the cider sector, an estimated 281 tonnes5 of material could be

saved by more efficient practice, achievable by ensuring the correct

equipment is used, staff are trained and machinery is set up correctly.

Based on the November 20116 price of virgin plastic film, 281 tonnes of

wrap conserved equates to a sector saving of £400,000.

Water use

Data collected for this review shows that typical water use per litre of

product is currently 3.36 litres. The companies providing these

(confidential) data are operating with good practice, and average actual

usage may be slightly higher, though it will also vary depending on the

scale of the business.

Metering of water use throughout production lines was apparent only in

a small number of sites, and this is considered a critical first step to

allow for better understanding of key opportunities. Cost of metering is

highlighted as a barrier by many stakeholders, though payback is often

realised through leak detection and hidden savings that can be made

once inefficiencies are shown. Best practice in water use per litre of

product was 2.38 litres7, which was achieved after the site installed

numerous water meters throughout all processing stages.

5 WRAP (2011) Reducing packaging waste in the UK drinks sector 6 Price taken from WRAP market values, November 2011 http://www.wrap.org.uk/recycling_industry/market_information/materials_pricing_reports/index.html

7 Confidential industry waste reviews, 2011


Figure 1: Stainless steel cider vats. Courtesy of NACM

Recycling of water onsite, through different processes, offers both

environmental benefits and cost savings. These include a reduction in

water use and lower effluent discharge costs.

Water used in boilers and pasteurisers is relatively uncontaminated, and

can be recycled for use in lower quality uses around the site. Steam

condensate can also be collected and reused, offering energy savings

due to heat capture. Through introduction of these techniques, Shepton

Cider Mill, producing Gaymers and Magners cider, reduced water

consumption by 22%8.

Cleaning water is a high volume use with organic materials, in particular,

being difficult to remove and often consuming higher than necessary

volumes of water due to inefficient cleaning methods. Clean in place

(CIP) improvements should be an area of focus for the sector, and these

are considered below.

8C&C Group Plc (2011) Corporate Social Responsibility Report


Clean in Place (CIP)

CIP is a critical use of water, with organic materials present in fruit juice

in particular requiring more intense cleaning, requiring about 1-2l/l of

product9. Areas to review include:

optimising plant process design;

removing product and gross soiling prior to cleaning;

incorporating the internal recycling of water and chemicals;

staff training;

carefully setting operating programmes which coincide with the real

cleaning requirements of the process;

minimising detergent loss to drain; and

using water efficient spray devices.

CIP systems can be complex, especially if multiple systems are in place.

It is sensible to have a CIP engineer visit the site, to ensure current

systems are working at their optimum, before investing in retrofitting

newer systems.

Waste water

The cider industry lends itself conveniently to wetland ecosystem

treatment (WET) systems, as they are often next to orchards/farmland

and have the space required for such a system. Sheppy’s Cider in

Somerset has a 4 acre WET system that is accommodated within the

370 acre farmland in which Sheppy’s is located.

These systems include a series of specially designed earth banks, reed

beds and ponds, allowing wastewater to flow through. Microbial and

plant action removes contaminants, whilst allowing many species of

plant, animal and other living organisms to thrive. Benefits of WET

systems can be seen outside of the initial objective of natural treatment

of wastewater and pollution control. Larger cider manufacturers are

unlikely to have available land for use in these systems, and should

9 Industry input, 2011


consider alternate means of treatment, such as effluent separation for

AD.

Figure 2: Sheppy’s Cider Mill WET System. Construction being carried out Courtesy of NACM

Cider wastewater content is seasonal linked to natural production cycles.

At peak times, the discharge has high chemical oxygen demand (COD)

and suspended solid streams. To avoid high discharge costs companies

store large volumes on site which are then diluted to reduce the organic

content and discharged later in the season.

This approach does not recover the value within the water for example

as a feedstock for energy recovery through AD. If effluent separation

was carried out high COD/suspended solid streams could be stored until

sufficient volume is obtained for off-site recovery.

Figure 3: Sheppy’s Cider Mill WET System Thriving wetland less than three years later, the system saves Sheppy’s

an estimated £240,000 per year and has been adopted by wildfife and birds in abundance


Product loss avoidance

Cider orchards vary in their productivity. Production processes are also

not uniform. Typical yield from cider apples is around 80% indicating

improvement potential for example through benchmarking production

and improved process efficiency.

Fill inefficiencies were apparent across all packaging formats. Both

under-and over-fills can be caused by numerous factors, though they

are mostly linked to inherent process variability.

It is good practice to run trials of variability (ensuring first that the

check-weigher is accurate and not responsible for incorrect measuring).

If variance is acceptable, the likely reason for inaccuracies may be

human error indicating that staff training may be beneficial. If variance

is high, a more technical reason may be apparent, and a more detailed,

technical review required; the original equipment manufacturer should

be contacted.

Organic resource

Typical yield from cider apples is around 80%. About 36,000 tonnes10 of

pulpy remains, or pomace, is left after production and has a value as

animal feed or as feedstock for anaerobic digestion (AD) plants and

should be recovered where possible. WRAP research suggests that no

pomace, which is a by-product, is sent to landfill, with the vast majority,

31,000 tonnes, sent for animal feed11.

Some smaller companies return pomace to land but this appears to have

limited benefit. A growing area of interest appears to be in

pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets12, with Heineken UK (producers of

Bulmers and Strongbow ciders) extracting antioxidant and

phytochemicals present in pomace for use in these arenas.

10 Including pomace from apple juice production 11 Confidential industry waste reviews, and stakeholder interviews, 2011 12 Industry interviews, 2011


Conclusions

There are several focal points for maximising resource efficiency within

the cider sector in the UK and these are listed below.

Improve monitoring. Metering along the production line allows

for understanding of hotspots, and detection of leaks. Hotspots of

inefficiency can be targeted and managed.

Improved CIP. Frequent reviewing and improving on CIP is

essential, as developments and improvements are available. Ensure

staff are trained on the details of the system, and ‘cleaning’ is

understood, so systems are not running at higher levels than

necessary.

Effective wastewater management. Consider effluent separation

to recover value in the organic content of effluent; for example,

utilising for AD. Where land availability allows, consideration should

be given to WET systems over disposal to sewer.

Maximise value from organic by-product. Review value gained

from pomace/organic remnants of harvest. If no local farmers are

able to utilise as animal feed, check local AD facilities. Consideration

should also be given to alternatives such as pharmaceuticals and

cosmetic markets, as used by Heineken UK.


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Resource efficiency in the UK cider sector