Today (3 December) saw the official opening of Bristol’s first food waste anaerobic digestion (AD) plant. The plant was opened by Defra minister David Heath and is operated by Wessex Water subsidiary, GENeco.
Based at Bristol’s sewage treatment works in Avonmouth, the AD facility, the first to be co-located within such a facility, will use microorganisms to break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen to produce methane gas and a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser.
It is hoped the plant will process 40,000 tonnes of food waste from homes, supermarkets and businesses across the South West to generate 10 gigawatt hours of renewable energy per year, enough to power around 3,000 homes.
Previously, food waste collected from households in the Bristol area was sent for in-vessel composting processing in Sharpness, Gloucestershire.
Minister Heath officially opened the plant today, saying: "We see here the ideal balance between good business sense and environmental protection.
"The GENeco plant is unique by being the first food waste anaerobic plant in Britain to be built in a sewage treatment works. Water companies using their expertise in treating sewage can provide a significant boost to the expansion of waste food anaerobic digestion in this country."
Mohammed Saddiq, General Manager of recycling and renewable energy company, GENeco, said: “Anaerobic digestion has a huge role to play in the closed loop economy and the new facility at Avonmouth is an excellent demonstration of that, taking local food waste and generating extremely low carbon energy and a quality fertiliser to return to food production.
“I am very pleased to be joined by Defra Minister David Heath and the chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association to open the plant.”
Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association, added: “AD has the potential to deliver 10 per cent of the UK’s domestic gas demand, with remarkably 60 per cent of this coming from the food waste we have historically sent to landfill.
“It is projects like these that will help to build the UK’s reputation as a world leader in the digestion of food waste – and what’s particularly exciting is that we can all help in this by supporting separate food waste collections.”
She also said: “This is an excellent example of the entrepreneurial potential of the UK’s water sector, demonstrating just how much can be produced from our waste food through anaerobic digestion, not only helping Wessex Water to significantly reduce its carbon footprint but also making a valuable contribution to improving the UK’s energy and food security.”
Read more about the GENeco plant.
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