Bottle washing water quality and trade effluent.
Bottle washing water should be specified by its function: incoming wash water, intermediate rinse, final product-contact rinse, recovered water or cleaning stream. Each stream needs a defined quality and discharge route.
Separate water quality from water availability.
Pressure and flow determine whether the equipment can operate as designed. Water quality determines whether a stream is suitable for its intended bottle contact and whether deposits, spotting or contamination could be introduced. The site should define both.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate publishes guidance on the use of water in food production and the responsibilities around water quality. Use the current DWI information and site-specific food-safety assessment to establish the appropriate requirement; do not assume every recirculated stream is suitable for final contact.
| Water stream | Specification question | Monitoring/segregation question |
|---|---|---|
| Incoming mains or treated water | Source, hardness, suspended solids, treatment and seasonal variation | Where is it sampled and who owns the result? |
| Main wash liquor | Temperature, chemistry, soil loading and renewal/control method | How is condition monitored and when is the bath dumped? |
| Intermediate rinse | Purpose and permissible carry-over to the next stage | Can counter-current or recovered water be used within the validated boundary? |
| Final rinse | Required quality at the last bottle-contact point | How is backflow, cross-connection and contamination from reuse circuits prevented? |
| Recovered water | What treatment is required for its defined reuse? | How are filtration, storage time, temperature and purge controlled? |
| Cleaning/flush water | What contaminants and chemicals can it contain? | Is it segregated from normal rinse discharge? |
Trade-effluent and drainage questions
- Which stream contains detergents, caustic, labels, adhesive, product residue or suspended solids?
- Does the local sewerage undertaker require trade-effluent consent and specific limits?
- Is an environmental permit or separate disposal route relevant to any discharge?
- Can solids and labels be captured before the drain?
- Is drain capacity adequate for peak discharge and cleaning?
- Are bunding, isolation and spill controls required?
Water-reuse boundary
- Define the exact reuse duty rather than “recycled water” generally
- Identify treatment, filtration and disinfection controls where applicable
- Prevent cross-connection with higher-quality final-rinse water
- Set sampling, monitoring, purge and change criteria
- Include tanks, pumps, cleaning and energy in the cost model
- Confirm how rejected or spent water is discharged
Confirm permission before installation.
UK Government guidance explains that liquid waste discharged to a public sewer may be trade effluent and can require consent from the sewerage undertaker; discharges to surface water or ground can involve different environmental-permit requirements. Check the current GOV.UK discharge guidance and obtain site-specific advice before finalising the drain connection.
Information for the machine and site teams
- Water source, quality, available pressure/flow and connection point
- All wash/rinse/reuse streams and their intended contact duty
- Expected contaminants, chemicals and solids in each discharge
- Drain locations, levels, capacity and treatment/capture equipment
- Consent, permit and sampling responsibilities
- Cleaning, emptying and emergency isolation method
Send the utility and drainage schedule with the bottle samples.
Lancing can then review the equipment interface without assuming that site water or discharge capacity is available.
Request a utilities review