AVBC Receives Waste Reduction Award
Boonville, CA (Sept. 26, 2000) The Anderson Valley Brewing Company receives frequent recognition and awards for the quality of its beer. Now, it’s the Boonville brewery’s environmental practices that have been honored by the State of California. The California Integrated Waste Management Board has noted Anderson Valley Brewing’s innovative recycling efforts by including them as winners under this year’s Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP). Only seventeen businesses from the North Coast counties of Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity were so honored among the nearly 1,900 WRAP Awards winners in the state.
The Waste Board’s WRAP awards are designed to recognize companies that develop creative and aggressive programs to reduce the amount of waste they generate. Applicants are honored based on a set of criteria developed with input from the business community. Practices evaluated include waste prevention, materials reuse, recycling, recycled product procurement, and employee education.
Anderson Valley Brewing was cited for its operation of a unique three-pond effluent waste water treatment system which filters out excess nutrients and other byproducts of the brewing process, leaving the water suitable to irrigate the company’s 30-acre property. Further, the brewery also donates approximately 2000 tons per year of spent grain to local livestock ranchers as a nutritionally rich feed supplement. Anderson Valley Brewing’s employees also mix the company’s protein rich spent yeast into the grain destined for animal feed after first thermal-killing any active organisms, making it safe for livestock.
Upon learning of the award, President and founder Dr. Kenneth Allen reflected on Anderson Valley Brewing’s commitment to reusing resources. "I think it’s important that all companies be responsible for not impacting the environment in a negative way. Resources need to be used as efficiently as possible, and with an effort we can not only keep waste products out of the landfill, but useful applications can be found for them."
Dr. Allen pointed out that most of the time the water used by the brewery is used three or four times before it is naturally filtered for irrigation. First to chill and then to heat liquids during the brewing process, then to actually brew the beer or to clean up afterwards, then to the ponds for filtration and ultimately for irrigation. "Good environmental practices are also good business practices, " Allen noted. "We’re always looking for new ways to save resources and reuse materials."
Since its inception in 1990, the Waste Board, which is part of the California Environmental Protection Agency, has presented more than 4200 WRAP honors recognizing California businesses that have made significant strides in waste reduction. The Board’s mandate is to work in partnership with local government, industry, and the public to achieve a 50 percent reduction in waste disposal by the end of the year 2000. In 1999, the statewide diversion rate was estimated at 37 percent.
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