Tyson, Sanderson earn Clean Water honorable mention

Both Sanderson Farms Inc.’s Waco, Texas, and Tyson Foods Inc.’s Nashville, Arkansas, facilities earned honorable mention with distinction awards in from the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.

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The facility recently installed a privacy fence around its wastewater treatment complex to improve the view of residential neighbors and those using an adjacent trail. (Photo by Austin Alonzo)
The facility recently installed a privacy fence around its wastewater treatment complex to improve the view of residential neighbors and those using an adjacent trail. (Photo by Austin Alonzo)

Both Sanderson Farms Inc.’s Waco, Texas, and Tyson Foods Inc.’s Nashville, Arkansas, facilities earned honorable mention with distinction awards in from the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.

As part of the associations’ 2019 Clean Water Awards both facilities were highlighted for their performance in the full treatment of poultry wastewater and their wider commitment to environmental sustainability. According to WATT PoultryUSA’s Top Broiler Company rankings, Tyson is ranked as the largest integrated poultry processing company. Sanderson is ranked as the third largest.

Sanderson’s Waco operation

Waco Processing’s operation fully treats about 1.5 million gallons of wastewater daily from the big bird processing plant for discharge into a tributary of the Brazos River. It treats water using screening, secondary screening, anaerobic treatment with flow equalization, activated sludge treatment and ultraviolet disinfection.

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From left: Dan Lee, William Smith and Kynan Barry, Tyson Foods (Courtesy Paul Bredwell)

This treatment process creates a significant amount of natural gas, which is put to use inside the plant. The plant’s covered lagoon generates 75% pure methane biogas which is purified on-site to pipeline-quality natural gas. Once refined, that gas is pumped directly into the plant and used instead of purchased natural gas. Altogether, this process creates more than 80% of the natural gas used at the plant.

Tyson’s Nashville operation

The wastewater operation fully treats about 1.2 million gallons of wastewater daily from the processing plant for discharge into Mine Creek in Nashville. The process utilizes land application of the sludge created from treatment. To reduce the need for sludge application, Nashville uses a Fournier rotary press that removes moisture from solids by pressing sludge until almost all of the water is removed. So far, this process has reduced total land application by 37%.

Nashville is also nearly landfill free, thanks to its recycling and waste management efforts. Trash coming out of the processing plant is sorted rather than pitched. Wet, contaminated plastic coming from the plant is baled and stored for further processing. This contaminated plastic goes to an outside vendor that processes the material for use in decking boards and other materials. Annually, this process keeps 150 tons of plastic out of the trash.

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