Environmental impact of the dairy industry

ndustrial environmental problems are generally due to water, air and soil pollution, noise and waste.

In the dairy industry, the main problem is water. It has to be treated before being discharged into the natural environment. This treatment generates sludge, which must also be taken into account.

Noise pollution is minimal. It may concern a few cooling units or drying towers, for example. Dairies have no particular impact on air or soil pollution.

As far as waste is concerned, the main issues are sludge from wastewater treatment plants and the reduction of packaging for finished products. For the latter, a drastic reduction strategy has been implemented to minimize the amount of household waste.

France has a long tradition of dairy production. In 1995, 22,731 million liters of cow's milk, 274 million litres of goat's milk and 208 million litres of sheep's milk were collected. Milk and its processing produce a wide range of products, from liquid milks and cheeses to industrial products such as flour.

Polluted water from dairies is highly biodegradable. Our strategy is to recover as much as possible of the by-products (whey, for example), which are otherwise recycled.

Effluent composition varies according to the processes used and therefore the products manufactured, but also the way in which recovery is carried out. CODs can vary from 1 to 10 g · L ^–1 with COD/BOD ₅ ratios ranging from 1.5 to 2.

The current economic situation of the dairy industry in France is detailed in the "Find out more" section. .

The depollution processes that can be used to treat effluents from the dairy industry are presented in the article .