Answer

ENVIORNMENTAL ACTION PLANS FOR WASTEWATER AND SOLID WASTE IN VANCOUVER OLIVE OIL COMPANY

Summary of Learning

The case study has offered various lessons on olive oil production and environmental impacts of the same. Olive oil production is a critical aspect, which results in the gaining of important health nutrients from the final product. However, the process results in the production of wastes. The case study has shown that some of the most common wastes arising from olive oil mills include solid wastes and water wastes. If the wastes are not properly managed using the best environmental action plans (EAP). They can have various adverse impacts on the environment. Olive oil mills should have environmental policies, which define their operations and confirm their commitment to the prevention of pollution and compliance with legal requirements. The author has learnt how to identify major environmental issues from an olive oil plant and how they affect the environment. The case study has enabled the author meet the course requirements by necessitating the formulation of an environmental policy as well as EAPs. To improve the learning outcomes, different case studies having varied problems should be provided so that students can have varied environmental issues arising from olive oil plants.

Environmental Policy

Vancouver Olive Oil Company is committed to providing quality products in ways that ensure the health and safety of employees and minimizes potential adverse effects on the environment. The company is committed to complying with the relevant environmental laws and policies and will strive to ensure that best practices are deployed in the prevention of pollution and management of wastes arising from olive oil production and processing. The mill is commitment to the continual improvement of its environmental management plans. Our environmental policy is, therefore to-

• Consider all environmental concerns and impacts in every step including our activities and decision-making.
• Minimize environmental pollution through recycling and reuse of our water waste and solid waste where it is possible.
• As much as possible produce products and use materials, which have the least damage to the environment.
• Promote environmental awareness amongst our workers through encouraging them to work in an environmentally responsible way.
• Inform, train and educate our employees on various environmental issues that may affect their activities in the workplace.
• Communicate the various environmental commitments to not only our customers but also the public and encourage them to offer their support.
• Minimize our usage of energy and water within or premises to conserve supplies and minimize our consumption of critical natural resources.
• Develop and maintain programs for response to emergency and spills for any existing health, safety and environmental hazards.

Introduction

Olive oil sector is one of the fastest growing industries due to the various benefits olive oil have in the society. However, this growth comes with various environmental issues. Olive oil production result in the production of wastes. Some of the commonly produced wastes include solid wastes and water wastes. If such wastes are not properly managed, they have various adverse effects on the environment. In the traditional and 3-phase systems, significant environmental impact of olive oil production is realized. The high number of wastes arise from the massive utilization if water in the processing of olives. Additionally, the need to dispose and reuse large amounts of sludge and liquid effluent results in the significant amount of wastes. The wastes bring about various risks to the environment. One of the major risks is the discoloring of natural waters because of tannins, which come from the oilskin. Additionally, wastewater is a major threat to aquatic life as it contains contents of reduced sugar which when discharged directly to natural waters reduce the amount of oxygen and threaten the existence of aquatic animals. The effect of wastewater and solid wastes to soil quality cannot be underestimated.

Appropriate measures should be taken to mitigate the effects of wastewater and solid waste produced by olive oil plants. One of the most appropriate strategies is the creation of environmental management system (EMS). The EMS should provide various environmental actions plans which when implemented will result in the proper disposal and management of highly contaminated wastewater and solid wastes. In developing an EMS, organization should be guided by the various probable wastes as well as the risks likely to arise. Additionally, the EMS should be based on existing environmental laws, policies, and more specifically, ISO 14001. The aim of this paper to develop EAP action plans for an olive oil plant producing 85-175kg of wastewater and 35-45kg of solid waste. Firstly, an initial environmental review will be conducted to identify legal requirements and major risks arising from the wastes. Secondly, two environmental management plans (EMPs) will be developed for the solid wastes and wastewater. The required resources, roles of each stakeholder and responsibilities will be provided. Finally, necessary audits for the EAPs will be stated.

Initial Environmental Review

Olive oil production plants should ensure that they have a checklist of the various legal and ethical requirements. Various laws and principles must be followed by the mills in the quest to produce and process olive oil. According to the Australian olive association limited, the various legal requirements are related to product standards and fair-trading, Australian Standard AS5264-2011, product and marketing, compliance, customer satisfaction, food safety, traceability, quality and labeling among other ethical standards. However, the most relevant in this case study are Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), requirement to have an environmental policy, and ISO 14001.

HACCP is a control system for production in the food industry. In this control system, areas where potential contamination of the foods can occur are identified. As a result, these points are managed and monitored to ensure that he production process is not only safe but also cost effective for the organizations. HACCP is pegged on seven key principles. The first one os that a hazard analysis should be conducted to assess and identify the major risks associated with each production process and the describe ay measures of control. The second principle is determining the critical control points (CCPs) to eliminate any safety hazard. In the third principle, critical limits are established while the fourth principle sees the establishment of a monitoring system. Afterwards, in the fifth principle, procedures fir corrective actions are established while sixth principle is the formulation of procedures for verification. Finally, documents should be provided concerning the various processes and procedures.

ISO 14001:2014 is a requirement that binds major industries and olive oil mills are no different. According to this standard, environment management should be a key focus for organizations and should help companies achieve various aspects. One of those is minimize the various ways in which the operations of such mills affect the environment including how they affects the air, water, and land. Additionally, olive oil mills ought to company with the various laws and regulations as well as continually improve on the requirements stated. This standard is a critical one as it ensures that oil companies cannot dispose their wastes in a manner that adversely affects the environment especially he biosphere and hemisphere.

Aspects and Impacts

The two key aspects that can be identified from the case study are solid wastes and water wastes which arise from the processing of olive oil. Notably, the proportion of solid (olive husk) and liquid (olive mill wastewater) wastes produced is directly related to the amount of olive oil produced. The solid and wastewater wastes from the process of oil extraction contains various macromolecules include lipids, proteins as well as noncyclic and phenomic compounds. If the wastes are not properly managed, they have various adverse effects on the environment. Disposal of untreated liquid and solid wastes is mostly uncontrolled and not in tandem with existing laws and regulations. Bad treatment of the wastes causes bad odors, environmental degradation and pollution to surface waters, aquifers and air.

Discoloring of natural waters is one of the most visible effects of pollution arising from liquid and solid wastes. Tannins arising from, the olive skin have the effect of dying the water after coming into contact with the. The second adverse effect is the degradation of carbon compounds. Specifically, bacteria arising from the waters is a threat to aquatic life as wastewater has a considerable amount of reduced sugar, which wen not properly managed increases the amount of microorganisms. The wastes have an effect on soil quality as wastewater contains acids, minerals, and organics, which destroy the soil cation exchange. When such adverse impacts are left unattended, they are likely to cause a major imbalance to the ecosystem. As such, it is critical to identify key risks derived from the case study and ways in which they can be mitigated through various environmental action plans.

Risk Assessment

The effects of the two significant aspects of solid wastes and wastewater have been identified through a risk assessment mechanism. Specifically the environmental risks include bad odors, threat to aquatic life, corrosion of concrete ad metal canals, flow hindrance, reduction of soil fertility, and health risks such as consumption of dissolved oxygen among others. The table below shows the major pollutants from the solid and wastewater wastes. The medium of the risks and the various effects of the pollutants.

The risk asseemenet of the various hazards was done in accordance with the Australian standard AS/NZS 4360:2004. The first step was identifying the two environmental aspects and activities. Secondly, the preliminary high-level risk identification and analysis was done. Thirdly, the risks were screened and prioritized. A detailed risk assessment followed whereby environmental surveys were done ad technical studies conducted to quantify data. Additionally, the data was validated and management controls decided. An environmental impact in this risk assessment refers to the changes in the environment whether adverse or beneficial resulting from the operations of the olive oil mil. However, major focus was on the adverse environmental impacts.

Environmental Management Plans

The risks that have been identified from the two aspects from the case study call for the olive oil mill to take measures aimed at ensuring proper management of the solid and liquid wastes.  One of the ways in which the wastes can be managed is through an environmental management plan (EMP). An EMP is a project designed to ensure appropriate use of environmental management practices. The two environmental action plans will serve to manage the solid and liquid waste, which have been established from the case study. Solid waste will be managed through detoxification and possible application into fertilizers. Wastewater on the other hand will be managed through thermal treatment.

Detoxification

Solid wastes derived from the olive oil mill in the case study contains high levels of various organic matter as well as minerals. Some of the mineral nutrients in the solid waste include nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. One of the most cost effective and ecologically efficient way of management is through detoxification.  The choice of this environmental action plan was based on several grounds. One of those is that it reduces environmental damage and provide profitable alternatives to the olive oil mills.

Significant Aspect

The significant aspect that this EAP seeks to address is hat of solid olive oil wastes.  Specifically, from the case study large amounts of solid wastes are produced. As such, it is critical that such wastes are managed properly to prevent any environmental pollution.

Impact the EAP Manages

The EAP manages various adverse environmental, impacts arising from improper disposal of solid wastes. one of the adverse imp[acts that arise from the solid wastes is environmental degradation as the solid wastes contain various minerals which not only pollute air but also soil. As such, this impact will be alleviated by the implementation of detoxification by the olive oil mill.

Legal Requirements

Some of the legal requirements that should be followed in the implementation of the current EAP include the ISO 14001:2014. Specifically, the organization should devise ways to minimize the adverse health and environmental impacts of its wastes. Additionally, other legislations dealing with environmental management should be observed in the proposed EAP.

Objectives It Sets To Achieve

The EAP proposed in the present case, which is detoxification, is aimed at achieving various targets. One of those is a massive reduction in the negative environmental impacts of the wastes. For instance, the aim will be to reduce the effect of the wastes n soil and the environment in genera. additionally, after detoxification, it os expected that the olive oil mill will make profits from the solid wastes as it can be converted into important products such as fertilizers.

Activities/Equipment/Procedure to Be Followed To Achieve the Target

Immediately after the release of the solid wastes, the activity to be carried out is the use of various chemical, which will be used on the detoxification process. The equipment required for the process are those for assembling the wastes into a common area from where the detoxification process can take place. The detoxification procedure is very simple, as after assembling of the solid wastes, the detoxification chemicals will be mixed with the wastes.

Responsibilities

A team of ten people will be involved in the detoxification process. Some of those will be engaged in the collection of wastes as they come out of the oil mills ad assembling them into one corner of the mill. The next step is the application of the detoxification chemicals. The final process would involve the disposal of the wastes into various landfills. Such solid wastes at their final disposal after detoxification will have minimal environmental effects.

Documentations

Resources Required

Thermal Treatment

Significant Aspects

Impact the EAP Manages

Legal Requirements

Objectives It Sets To Achieve

Activities/Equipment/Procedure to Be Followed To Achieve the Target

Responsibilities

Documentations

Resources Required

Thermal Treatment

Resources, Roles, Responsibility and Authority

Auditing and Review