Furthermore, if dissolved oxygen is elimi-
nated from water through high organic mat-
ter content, a septic condition with foul
odors and darkening of water occurs. Septic
conditions with sulfur-containing proteins
or water with a high natural content of sul-
fates can produce hydrogen sulfide, which
has a foul odor and can blacken buildings.
Waste disposal from food processing and
foodservice facilities can present a hazard if
the wastes are not properly handled because
of the high content of organic matter, which
is measured as biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD). Most facilities that discharge a large
quantity of effluent with a high BOD into a
municipal treatment system have to pay a
surcharge because of the increased waste-
water treatment load. Because of this burden
on small municipal treatment facilities, many
large firms elect to treat effluent discharge
partially or completely. The large volume of
wastewater produced in food plants contains
vast quantities of organic residues. The
intermittent production schedule of many
plants places greater demands on wastewater
treatment systems. During processing, water
is essential to help cleanse the product and to
serve as a cleaning medium and conveying
unwanted materials to the sewage system.
This water becomes the problem during
wastewater treatment because it contains
suspended and dissolved organic matter.
Strategy for waste disposal
A waste disposal survey is needed to iden-
tify the quantity of waste materials and the
characteristics of waste that will be discussed
in this chapter.
Planning the survey
The first step in a waste disposal survey is
an operations study, which identifies sources
of wastes. Construction drawings showing
the plot plan, piping plans, and equipment
layouts should be studied to determine all
sources of incoming and outgoing water.
The piping plans should show water lines,
storm sewer lines, sanitary sewer lines, and
processing waste drains and lines. The pipe
sizes, locations, and types of connections to
processing equipment, and the flow direction
should be included in the drawings.
The operating schedule of the food
plant—the number of shifts and types and
volumes of products produced in a single day
and over a week, a month, a season, and the
entire year—is important to this survey. Pro-
duction records for several preceding years
can provide this information. Water con-
sumption records should also be examined.
An initial waste survey is conducted to
ensure that a plant can comply with federal,
state, and local effluent requirements in
order to obtain or sustain a National Pollu-
tion Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit. The NPDES permit places
the burden of monitoring the waste effluent
stream, on the firm that creates the dis-
charge. The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) periodically monitors waste
discharges to check the accuracy of reports
submitted by applicants and permit holders.
An initial survey is also beneficial to deter-
mine locations and types of required moni-
toring equipment to establish a continuous
monitoring program. Another advantage of
an initial survey is to determine whether
waste treatment is needed to meet discharge
regulations and, if needed, the most ideal
waste treatment approach.Conducting the Survey
Information obtained from the operations
study should determine what to include in
the survey. It may be necessary to conduct
individual surveys in each season if the types