CST Wastewater Solutions has been named as a finalist in the Sustainable Manufacturer category of Cirrus Media’s 2015 Food Magazine Awards, for its involvement in the installation of a Global Water Engineering COHRAL™ (Covered High Rate Anaerobic Lagoon) at Oakey Beef Exports on Queensland’s Darling Downs.

The hotly contested Sustainable Manufacturer category recognises companies that have made a concerted effort to reduce their environmental impact, either through implementing a new manufacturing process which reduces carbon emissions, introducing staff initiatives to foster sustainability in their work environment, or efforts to reduce the ‘food miles’ of their products.

The Oakey green energy initiative is being spearheaded by Japanese meat processor NH Foods and has been praised as an environmental and business efficiency model for food producers worldwide. It is designed to extract green energy biogas from waste water streams to replace millions of dollars’ worth of natural gas currently consumed at the abattoir.

“Being recognised as a finalist is a testament to the hard work of our team,” said Mr Michael Bambridge, Managing Director, CST Wastewater Solutions. “Hearing Mr Macfarlane, the Federal Industry and Minister say that this plant is a great example for the industry was really rewarding, and to be a finalist in the sustainable manufacturing category is further proof that these technologies are highly beneficial for not only the environment, but also profitability,” he said.

The plant – the first GWE Covered High Rate Anaerobic Lagoon in the world – will produce 183.3 gigajoules of energy a day when it reaches design capacity through the combustion of methane produced. The new plant delivers high quality waste water by extracting organic content, which it converts into methane to replace fossil fuels. The GWE anaerobic digestion technology involved can remove more than 70-90 per cent of organic waste content.

Oakey Beef Exports General Manager, Mr Pat Gleeson is pleased with the new investment, which was officially opened in April this year. “The green energy produced represents 40 per cent of our current usage of natural gas and will produce direct ongoing savings year after year. The cost of construction is expected to be repaid inside five years,” he said.

CST Wastewater Solutions has been involved in projects, technologies and services that increase environmental sustainability since its inception over 25 years ago. CST represents Global Water Engineering (GWE) technologies in Australia that are at the forefront of waste-to-energy initiatives, cleverly turning a problem, wastewater, into a profit, biogas, which can be used to power boilers, reduce fossil fuel use and converted to electricity.