VCE Environmental Science

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We were pleased to welcome Matt Boyce, Environment and Sustainability Manager at Midfield Meats, into our class today. Matt spoke generally about the company and his role and more specifically about the EMS at Midfield and the new co-generation plant. As a food processing industry, large amounts of water and energy are used and consequently, high greenhouse gas emissions are released. The EMS, produced in 2005,  also addresses noise, dust, odour, solid waste and waste water. As power and water are two of the most costly inputs into the company, Midfield planned to implement projects that would address cost savings in these areas.

An Adelaide company, SBA Engineering, have installed the Combined Heat and Power generator, which is leased by Midfield. By installing the plant, Midfield aim to reduce their energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40%.  For example, since the plant was installed in April, electricity use from the grid has been reduced from around 1,150MWh to 600 MWh per month, a decrease of 48%.  Use of natural gas, a ‘cleaner’ fuel that produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions, has increased by about 33%. The cogeneration plant runs in conjunction with a geothermal bore, which also reduces energy costs by supplying water at a higher temperature than the town supply (40C compared to 15-18C). The geothermal water is treated, using reverse osmosis, heated by the cogeneration plant and the water used for cleaning within the plant.

The company are also in the planning stages of a biodiesel plant, turning animal fat (tallow) into fuel. The plant will have the potential to produce 12 million litres of biodiesel each year, reducing vehicle emissions by almost 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide gas equivalent  each year. This biodeisel, a renewable fuel without the issues of ethanol (turning food into fuel) will be used by the freight division of the company and excess fuel sold on the wholeslae market.

ECOS magazine reported recently that the CSIRO and Land & Water Australia had released a report about the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in Australia’s waterways. These chemicals mimic, block or disrupt the actions of hormones, and disrupt the normal functioning of the endocrine system. Although EDCs have being identified in discharges from intensive livestock operations, wastewater treatment plants and paper mills, and in runoff from pesticide- or manure-laden farmlands, there had been little Australian research on the issue. European and American research has shown that populations of aquatic wildlife exposed to EDCs exhibit unbalanced sex ratios, abnormal gonad development and reproductive failure, even at very low levels of exposure.
A group of concerned scientists from a range of organisations signed the “Black Mountain Declaration” which aims to encourage further research into the issue, identifying impacts on native fauna and minimising discharge and exposure to the chemicals.