Alto Dairy Cooperative in Waupun, Wis., is the first U.S. dairy processor to use a unique waste water treatment system that crystallizes phosphorus.
Alto manufactures award-winning American and Italian style cheeses and whey and milk products for the food service and food processing industries. Like many manufacturers, the co-op is affected by increasingly stringent effluent requirements. If a food processor discharges to a publicly-owned treatment system, limits are assigned locally on characteristics such as Biological or Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD/COD) or Total Suspended Solids (TSS); fats and oils, phosphorus; ammonia; and nitrogen. Processors who have onsite treatment facilities, such as Alto, typically discharge directly to a neighboring water way. In these instances, the state determine specific limits.