Waste is expensive for any business to manage. If your company produces wastewater as part of day-to-day operations, these questions will help you understand what you’re producing, how it’s being managed and where there are opportunities to reduce, recover, recycle and reuse wastewater or its components. Use these questions as part of informal plant-level discussions about increasing efficiency and decreasing costs, or to guide the planning of a comprehensive wastewater audit.
QUESTIONS TO IDENTIFY
WASTEWATER CHARACTERISTICS
- What is the volume of wastewater you produce daily, weekly, monthly and annually?
- What is the present annual cost to dispose of or treat that wastewater?
- Is the wastewater handled as separate or combined streams?
- What is the material consistency (% solids)
- What is the waste classification of the material? (These are Ontario’s waste classes)
- Are there any known hazardous chemicals in the wastewater?
- Are there any current sample analyses available?
- Are there any historical analyses available?
QUESTIONS TO IDENTIFY SITE CHARACTERISTICS
- How is the wastewater presently managed?
- What is the onsite storage volume?
- What is the current collection frequency?
- What is the site accessibility for waste removal?
- What is the site entry procedure?
- What are the hours of operation?
- Are there loading facilities onsite?
- What is the loading rate? (e.g. L/min)
QUESTIONS TO IDENTIFY
RECOMMENDATIONS
- How much do we currently pay for disposal and/or treatment of our wastewater, including sewer surcharges?
- How can we reduce the volume of our wastewater?
- How can we isolate and treat hazardous components for reuse?
- How can we reuse organic constituents? (Examples include composting, digestion, energy production, soil amendment, bedding cover, and animal feed)
- How can we change our processes, e.g. onsite storage, to reduce collection frequency and cost?
- How can we change our processes, e.g. onsite treatment, to reduce haulage and end use cost?
- How can we treat wash water onsite so it can be reused?