Beverage Industries urged to minimise water usage

Local beverage industries should devise mechanisms to economically manage their water resources in order to cut their production costs.The call was made yesterday at the regional workshop on African Beverages Industries Water Saving Initiative (ABIWSI) in Kigali.Alex Ruzibubira, the director general in charge of Industry and Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Development at the Ministry of Trade and Industry told the meeting that industries waste water resources yet their output is low.“Research shows that at least 6 litres of water are used in industries to produce only one litre of beverage. We therefore want to collectively discuss and find solutions to reduce water wastage in factories without causing adverse effects on production,” Ruzibubira said.Ruzibubira’s emphasised the need to sensitise people about water management, noting that water misuse may sometimes lead to its scarcity.The Process Control Manager of Crown Beverages Uganda, John Mary Kayenje, said that his industry significantly reduced water used in processing beverages, an achievement made after they employed mechanisms proposed by ABIWSI.“In 2009, research indicated that we used 4.79 litres to make a litre of beverage, but in 2011, we reduced to 3 litres and we are still coming up with new measures to reduce this further,” Kayenje said.Jules Karitanyi, Chief Engineer at Bralirwa, called on his colleagues in the brewery business to take note and embrace the water-use-reduction strategies.The two day workshop was organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in partnership with Rwanda Resource Efficiency and Clean Production Center (RRECPC).It attracted participants from seven African countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.The forum aims at promoting efficient water utilisation in African beverage industries through the African Water Vision.Earlier this year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade began clamping down industries without water treatment facilities after discovering that they were heavily polluting the environment.

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Beverage Industries urged to minimise water usage