Industries
Same biology.
Different feedstock.
Eight sectors, one underlying problem: keeping the bacteria in your treatment system balanced enough to handle whatever you’re putting into it.
01 — Milk & dairy factories
High-load, high-fat effluent
Dairy wash-down and process water is rich in fats, proteins and lactose — exactly the conditions that drive fast COD spikes and rapid filamentous bulking if the bacterial population can’t keep pace.
We treat with bacterial strains selected for high-fat, high-organic loads, paired with aeration where ponds are oxygen-limited, to bring COD/BOD down and stabilise foam before it becomes an odour or compliance issue.
Common triggers
What usually brings dairy operators to us
Foaming after a wash-down spike · rising COD ahead of a licence review · sludge building faster than the desludging schedule allows for · filamentous bulking causing poor settling.
02 — Egg processing
Protein-heavy waste, persistent odour
Egg wash and breakage waste streams carry heavy protein and ammonia loads. Left untreated, this drives strong, persistent odour that’s often the first complaint a site receives — before any test result confirms a problem.
Treatment focuses on rebalancing bacteria to digest protein loads efficiently and on ammonia reduction, cutting odour at the source rather than masking it.
Common triggers
What usually brings egg processors to us
Neighbour or council odour complaints · ammonia levels creeping up · pond surface scum and poor settling · E. coli exceedances.
03 — Chipboard & timber
Resin and lignin loads standard bacteria can’t break down
Chipboard and panel manufacturing effluent often carries resin, lignin and formaldehyde-related compounds that generic treatment bacteria simply aren’t equipped to digest.
We use bacterial strains suited to industrial/manufacturing wastewater with hydrocarbon and resin content — the same class used in mining applications — to reduce organic load without relying on chemical treatment alone.
Common triggers
What usually brings timber/panel sites to us
Chemical treatment only partially reducing load · rising sludge disposal costs · compliance reporting under pressure · persistent COD that won’t shift.
04 — Mines
Hydrocarbon-contaminated water, remote-site logistics
Mine site wastewater is frequently contaminated with hydrocarbons that chemical agents only partially treat. Add remote locations and infrequent access, and treatment has to be robust, low-maintenance and easy to dose without specialist staff on site daily.
Bio-bacteria in Bactech 323 digest hydrocarbons down to H₂O and CO₂. The Andzac pontoon aerator is built for low-maintenance, energy-efficient operation in remote settings.
Common triggers
What usually brings mine operators to us
Hydrocarbon levels not shifting with chemical treatment alone · EPA licence conditions on water discharge · maintenance burden of existing aeration equipment · remote access constraints.
05 — Wineries
Seasonal shock loads at vintage
Winery wastewater is highly seasonal — vintage can dump months’ worth of organic load into a pond in a matter of weeks, overwhelming a bacterial population that was sized for the quiet season.
We plan dosing ahead of vintage to build bacterial capacity before the load hits, rather than reacting once the pond is already in trouble — and adjust aeration to match the seasonal swing.
Common triggers
What usually brings wineries to us
Post-vintage odour or foaming · COD spikes that take months to recover from · pond struggling to reset between vintages · capacity questions ahead of production expansion.
06 — Abattoirs
Fat, blood and protein driving odour and BOD breaches
Abattoir effluent is among the heaviest organic loads any treatment pond will see — high in fat, blood and protein, and prone to severe odour and BOD breaches if the bacterial balance slips.
Treatment is built around sustained high-load digestion capacity, with monitoring to keep BOD and odour under control through normal throughput variation.
Common triggers
What usually brings abattoirs to us
BOD test results trending toward licence limits · persistent odour complaints · sludge accumulation outpacing the desludging budget · foaming in primary ponds.
07 — Councils
Lagoon performance, compliance and ratepayer complaints
Council-operated lagoons carry the added pressure of public accountability — odour complaints become ratepayer complaints, and compliance breaches become EPA correspondence with the council’s name on it.
We work directly with council operators and engineers, and alongside the consultants councils already use, to bring lagoons back within licence without a capital works business case.
Common triggers
What usually brings councils to us
E. coli or ammonia exceedances · odour complaints from nearby residents · algae blooms affecting lagoon performance · licence renewal pressure.
08 — Sludge reduction
Cutting desludging frequency and disposal cost at the source
Desludging and sludge disposal is one of the largest recurring costs in pond-based treatment. Most of that sludge is undigested organic material that active, well-balanced bacteria should be breaking down instead.
Sludge reduction is almost always a downstream result of getting bacterial digestion right — which is why it shows up as a measurable outcome across most projects we run, regardless of the primary industry.
Common triggers
What usually surfaces the sludge conversation
Rising desludging contractor invoices · pond capacity shrinking faster than expected · disposal cost increases for sludge with contamination · planning for a pond to avoid a full cleanout.
Don’t see your exact situation?
If your wastewater has an organic load and a pond or plant, there’s almost certainly a treatment fit. Call and describe what’s happening.