A meating of minds
May 28th 2010 Jaspers (Treburley) has achieved significant cost savings since becoming the first abattoir to receive a certificate of environmental benefit for its water-efficient membrane filtration system.This enabled the company to claim 100% first-year Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECA) on the capital cost of the system, while benefiting from reduced water supply and effluent disposal charges
Jaspers slaughters and processes beef cattle at its Treburley site in Cornwall, before distributing chilled products across the UK through its own small fleet of temperaturecontrolled commercial vehicles. In response to increasing costs, strict legislation around the disposal of wastewater to land and a desire to satisfy the Environment Agency discharge consent, the company was keen to investigate the possibility of recovering and re-using treated wastewater on site.
Prior to the installation of the recovery and re-use system the site used over 17,000m3 of water per year and wastewater was disposed of by land application, where the amount that can be spread to land is strictly regulated and the cost of disposal is significant. In fact, Jaspers was spending £46,000 per year on this disposal route.
By working with EIMCO Water Technologies (formerly Copa Ltd), Jaspers was able to identify a suitable system to treat the low-flow, high-COD concentration waste stream produced by the abattoir. The selection of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system, which combines a membrane process with a suspended growth bioreactor, means that the treated effluent quality is such that over 40% can be re-used for applications such as washing down animal sheds and cleaning agricultural vehicles.This is leading to cost savings of up to £9,000 per year through a reduction in the amount of potable water used at the abattoir,as well as significantly reducing Jaspers’ discharge costs.
Following successful trials, Jaspers applied for a certificate of environmental benefit from Defra to demonstrate that the system meets the criteria in the Water Technology List (WTL).Managed by Defra and HM Revenue & Customs in partnership with Envirowise, the WTL details water technologies and products that qualify for ECA within specific categories.
This certificate enabled Jaspers to claim an ECA on the capital cost of the plant and machinery making up the system, meaning it could offset the majority of the capital expenditure against the taxable profits of the year of investment – thus reducing the payback period of installing the MBR system to approximately four and a half years.
Michael Armstrong, Financial Controller at Jaspers, said: “On top of the savings from reduced water consumption and waste disposal charges, the availability of Enhanced Capital Allowances for systems meeting the criteria in the WTL was a real incentive for Jaspers to invest in the efficient membrane filtration system.”
To find out more about purchasing products from the WTL, to register a product for inclusion or to apply for certification for a membrane filtration or recovery and re-use system, visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/wtl More articles from Water Technology List: | 
