IN ASIN ASSOCIASOCIATION WITHTION WITH
AD 2010: POWERING THE WAY FORWARD
What is retail doing
with food waste?
Along with food manufacturers, the agricultural sector and local authorities, supermarkets are going to
play an important role in the future success of AD in the UK. David Burrows reports.
L
AST YEAR, the National Audit
Office warned that the UK was at
risk of missing its reduction targets
under the Landfill Directive. The
prospect of fines running into the hundreds of
millions does not bear thinking about. With 8.3
million tonnes from homes and more than 14
million from commercial catering, processing
and retail, the diversion of food waste away
from landfill will be critical.
As far back as 2000, the potential
of anaerobic digestion (AD) has been
recognised in the UK while in 2007, research
from environmental consultants, Eunomia
found AD to be an “environmentally superior”
technology in terms of carbon reduction and
WRAP tipped the technology as the “key to
unlocking hidden energy in food waste”.
It’s not a new concept either – the water
industry already has an established system
of AD plants that treat 66% of England’s
sewage sludge.
‘
The sluggish
In last year’s budget, the chancellor also from 12 of its outlets. Staff were trained to
announced an additional £10 million funding segregate the food waste and dispose of
for 2009/10 for the development of AD and it in clearly marked bins, the contents of
progress of UK
in vessel composting facilities for food waste which were then taken to an AD facility in
across the UK. The money – part of WRAP’s Bedfordshire. Given its success a national roll-
organics capital grant scheme – is providing out is now underway; by the end of 2010 food
AD to date
’
financial assistance towards the capital costs waste from around 300 Whitbread outlets will
of plant, equipment and infrastructure for have been diverted from landfill, saving over
food waste processing capacity, including 3,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.
It’s thus understandably frustrating to anaerobic digesters. Morrisons, meanwhile, is sending just
witness the sluggish progress of UK AD to “Anaerobic digestion isn’t a new over 3,500 tonnes of food waste to AD, 2,900
date. The current capacity of AD plants which technology, but it’s now coming of age as tonnes to composting and over 850 tonnes to
can process municipal and commercial the most environmental way to deal with food animal feed from its manufacturing sites.
food waste is 388,200 tonnes per annum waste in the UK,” says BiogenGreenfinch’s “As we come to the end of our financial
and there are a total of 10 plants in the UK CEO, Richard Barker. year, we will have diverted over 16,000 tonnes
– all of these plants are Animal By-Products Indeed, while there are still relatively few of ‘back of store waste’ from landfill through
approved. WRAP (the Waste & Resources such facilities in operation, more are under the increased use of MRFs, transfer stations
Action Programme) estimates that 70% of this construction and even more are in the and energy from waste plants,” adds a
available capacity is used for food waste. planning stage. Supermarkets will have an spokesman.
This puts the UK a long way behind other influential role to play in the future success By the end of the year, Morrisons hopes to
European Member States and there is, as of AD in the UK – as will food manufacturers, reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill
Philip Simpson says, commercial director of local authorities and the agricultural sector. by 50% - the figure currently stands at 34%.
food chain by-product recycler PDM, “a lot Whitbread – which owns brands including Environmental initiatives and reduction targets
of catching up to do”. That won’t happen the Table Table gastropub chain and Costa come hand-in-hand and the supermarkets
overnight, but many feel the drivers are now Coffee – teamed up with BiogenGreenfinch to love them. Tesco, for instance, delights in
being put in place to wake AD up. trial a separate food waste collection service having achieved its target to divert all its waste
14 March 11 2010 www.recyclingwasteworld.co.uk
Recycling
& WASTE WORLD
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