Nestlé is bringing its zero water facilities to their milk factory in Modesto, California, which they first established in Mexico last year. This type of factory extracts all the water it needs from milk which are used to manufacture dairy products.
Nestlé, satisfied with the results of the plant in Mexico, wants the plant in California to not utilize any local freshwater resources for its operations.
The project they plan to execute will cost around $7 million and is expected to be completed in 2016. This project should save almost 63 million gallons of water yearly for the state, which has been struggling with its fourth year of drought.
Zero Water factories have their advantages. A comment from the Nestlé's head of operations José Lopez states the benefits of these factories.
"Technology we have already deployed successfully elsewhere in the world to help address the challenges of water scarcity will improve our water use efficiency, relieving pressure on California's water resources," Lopez said.
The facility uses less than four million cubic meters (1 billion gallons) out of 50 billion cubic meters (13 trillion gallons), which the state of California consumes yearly.
The multinational company has been facing criticisms demanding a stop in its bottling during spring in the state. Lopez mentioned that their bottling processes in the state of California are being strictly scrutinized for the past few weeks.
Their team is now focusing on adapting their bottling and manufacturing operations and make it more robust and tough during dry seasons.
"We will test innovative solutions, prove they are efficient and effective and will share what we learn with others," Lopez said.
The company uses a three-phase approach to reduce water in its factories. First, engineers look for methods to boost the process. Second, they research for opportunities to recycle the water. And lastly, they use innovative methods to extract water from raw materials and then recycle it.
Nestlé intends to use the 'Water Target Setting' method in its facilities in California which identifies opportunities to reduce water, while determining the appropriate technology to be implemented.
