FOOD waste collected in Stratford district will now be converted into electricity.
Warwickshire County Council (WCC) has signed a new contract with Severn Trent Green Power which means all the food waste collected in the district will be taken to Coleshill anaerobic digestion facility for treatment.
Anaerobic digestion is a process through which specialist bacteria break down organic matter – such as food wastes – in the absence of oxygen and produce biogas.
The Coleshill facility can treat up to 50,000 tonnes of household and commercial food waste each year, which is enough to generate 2.4 Megawatts of electricity.
The biogas produced from this process is either converted to electricity and exported to the national electricity grid or further treated and exported to the national gas grid, supplying homes and businesses with renewable energy.
The process also creates a nutrient-rich liquid bio-fertiliser which is used by UK farmers to help grow the fruit and vegetables that end up back on people’s plates.
The forecast food waste tonnage for this contract means that Warwickshire residents will be powering the equivalent of 1,024 homes for a year with green energy – this is also the equivalent of 8,997 tonnes of carbon not emitted to the atmosphere compared to the same amount of food waste going into landfill.
The contract will last 12 to 18 months and has also been signed to include food waste in Warwick district.
WCC spokesperson for environment, climate and culture, Coun Heather Timms, said: “This new partnership with Severn Trent Green Energy is a further demonstration of this council’s commitment to doing everything it can to reduce its carbon impact on the rapidly changing climate.
“Not only does this provide a solution to increase the proportion of food waste collected for recycling from households in Stratford and Warwick, it also produces a large amount of totally renewable energy and nutrient-rich fertiliser for our farmers.”
Mark Barnfield, Public Sector Lead at Seven Trent Green Power, added: “As one of the leading food waste recycling businesses in the UK we are delighted to have been awarded this contract with Warwickshire County Council to provide the residents of Warwickshire a sustainable recycling solution for their food waste.”
Find out more at https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/waste-recycling
