TUCKER, GA. — The US Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) recognized both Keystone Foods and John Soules Foods with its 2024 Clean Water Award. The annual honor goes to specific plants demonstrating exceptional performance in wastewater treatment, water reuse and overall sustainability.

“The nominees for this year’s Clean Water Awards reflect the industry’s unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible resource management,” said Mikell Fries of Claxton Poultry, and USPOULTRY chair. “These awards recognize the progress made towards operational efficiency while maintaining strong community involvement. Congratulations to this year’s winners for their outstanding achievements.”

The Keystone poultry processing plant in Albany, Ky., was recognized in the full treatment category. According to USPOULTRY, the facility generates an average wastewater flow of 1.4 million gallons daily and processes around 250,000 birds daily.

Instead of discharging the treated wastewater into the receiving stream, it’s applied to agricultural land to produce forage that is made available to local cattle farmers. The facility reuses approximately 100,000 gallons of treated wastewater each week. The plant also received UL Certification for achieving the status of a Zero Waste to Landfill Gold Operation.

The pretreatment category winner was a John Soules Foods plant in Valley, Ala. This state-of-the-art, fully cooked poultry production plant treats approximately 420,000 gallons of wastewater daily, with a future daily capacity of around 1 million gallons.

“The facility utilizes a rotary screen, a screw press and a patented advanced pretreatment system that automatically controls the operation of the equipment and dosing of chemicals to meet effluent requirements,” USPOULTRY stated. “The efficiency of the patented technology used at the wastewater treatment plant allowed John Soules Foods to delay the installation of biological treatment equipment that was first thought to be necessary to meet effluent discharge limits.” 

An honorable mention with distinction award was presented to a Pilgrim’s plant in Russellville, Ala., in the full treatment category.

To qualify for the award, facilities must have at least two years of no significant noncompliance, notices of violation, or any other type of enforcement actions.