Food Waste Recycling

Once we have collected your food waste, it is taken to a special processing plant where it is treated in an enclosed vessel. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biological process that produces a gas principally composed of methane and carbon dioxide otherwise known as biogas. These gases are produced from organic wastes such as meat and fruit.

Anaerobic processes could either occur naturally or in a controlled environment such as a biogas plant. Organic waste such as food and various types of bacteria are put in an airtight container called a digester so the process can occur. Depending on the type of organic waste and the system design, biogas is typically 55 to 75 percent pure methane.

The biogas is used in a combined heat and power plant or cleansed of carbon dioxide and injected into the National Grid.

A by-product of the AD process is digestate. Digestate is a stable, nutrient-rich substance that is most commonly used as a renewable fertiliser or a soil conditioner which will be used for horticultural purposes on farms as a highly valuable addition to fertiliser.