Retail chain Sainsbury’s plc (Sainsbury’s) has today (21 July) announced that its Cannock store is now running on power generated solely from the supermarket’s own food waste.
Using the Poplars anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in Cannock (run by waste management company Biffa), food waste collected from the supermarket chain’s UK stores is turned into bio-methane gas (used to generate electricity) that is directly supplied to the supermarket via a 1.5 kilometre electricity cable.
The new power supply means the Cannock store will no longer rely on the National Grid for it’s day-to-day consumption of electricity.
Zero waste to landfill
The project is seen as a way of helping to close the loop on food recycling, as part of Sainsbury’s commitment to send zero waste to landfill. Any food waste that is unsuitable for charitable donations or animal feed is sent to the Biffa plant to be converted into energy.
Paul Crewe, Head of Sustainability for Sainsbury’s, said: “Sainsbury’s sends absolutely no waste to landfill and we’re always looking for new ways to reuse and recycle. So we’re delighted to be the first business ever to make use of this link-up technology, allowing our Cannock store to be powered entirely by our food waste.”
Anaerobic digestion technology
Biffa’s Poplars site in Staffordshire is the largest operational AD plant in the UK dealing with source-segregated food waste. The facility is licensed to process 120,000 tonnes of food waste per annum and is supported by a fleet of specialist vehicles collecting food waste from across the country.
Jeff Anderson, Managing Director of Biffa’s Industrial and Commercial division, said: “By converting food waste to renewable energy demonstrates our commitment to innovation and the environment, Biffa has a national network of dedicated food collection vehicles providing services for large and smaller customers nationwide.”
Sainsbury’s is currently the UK’s largest retail user of anaerobic digestion, generating enough energy to power 2,500 homes each year.
In June 2013 the supermarket retailer achieved it’s 20x20 sustainability target of diverting all its waste from landfill.
Find out more about Sainsbury’s sustainability targets.
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