Construction begins on UK’s largest AD plant

 

The United Kingdom may have already earned trendsetter status for its efforts in sustainabilty and food waste management. As construction begins on what will be the largest anaerobic digestion plant so far in the region, experts say many more AD plants in the UK will follow suit.

The Selby Renewable Energy Park, designed by Austrian firm Entec Biogas, will have the capability to transform more food waste into renewable energy than any other plant in the region. Thanks to partial funding from the UK Waste and Resource Action Programme, the plant will use state-of-the-art technology to treat food waste from supermarkets, restaurants, and waste management companies for processing.

According to an article in FoodProductionDaily.com, Entec Biogas CEO Bernhard Schultz was quoted as saying: “After having successfully realised AD plants for food waste in Japan and Germany, we are very happy to set up a milestone in the UK market with the largest AD plant for food waste. We see high potential for these types of plants during the next few years in the UK market. In general, these types of biogas plants for food waste are trendsetting for the whole European market.”

The article details primary sources of food waste in the UK and notes that the Selby facility will allow the government to divert “as much food as possible away from landfill sites.” While saving space in landfills, the organic waste can instead be transformed into renewable energy for the region.