Grants to help turn food waste into energy
Five UK projects will receive government grants to create energy from food waste and other organic waste, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced today.
The grants are being awarded under the £10 million Defra Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration Programme, and form part of wider plans to tackle food waste and packaging this week.
Anaerobic digestion breaks down organic matter, such as animal manure and food waste, to produce biogas, a renewable energy source for heat, power and transport. The process also helps keep organic waste out of landfill, which cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
The five projects chosen to receive grant funding all demonstrate cutting-edge technology and will be able to show the benefits of anaerobic digestion to a range of industries, according to Benn
“We need to rethink the way we deal with waste — we must see it as a resource, not a problem,” Benn said. “In the UK, we produce 100 million tonnes of food and other organic waste every year that we could be using to create enough heat and energy to run over two million homes — that’s five Birminghams.”
Benn added, “This new technology will provide a source of renewable energy while reducing methane emissions from agriculture and landfill by diverting organic waste, especially food waste, from landfill. These first five projects will show other British businesses the benefits and possibilities of anaerobic digestion and help us become world leaders in this exciting new technology.”
The successful applicants for funding from the Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration Programme are:
- Biocycle South Shropshire;
- Blackmore Vale Dairies;
- GWE Biogas Ltd.;
- Staples Vegetables; and
- United Utilities and National Grid.
“These projects are truly ground-breaking and will be used to show how cutting edge technology can work in practice,” said Liz Goodwin, CEO of the Waste and Resources Action Programme. “Between them, they demonstrate how anaerobic digestion can help the UK efficiently meet the challenges of reducing carbon emissions, increasing renewable energy generation and improving sustainable food production.”
The five projects will be built between now and the end of March 2011.
