First Government-Funded AD Facility Opens

24 February 2011

The first of the anaerobic digestion projects funded through the Government's Environmental Transformation Fund opens today in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Staples Vegetables one of the biggest producers of vegetables in the UK will produce 11m kilowatt hours of electricity per year by using the state of the art technology, which is capable of processing 40,000 tonnes of rejected vegetables. Digestate will replace inorganic fertiliser, heat will be captured for office heating, innovative heat absorption coolers will chill the processing areas, and electricity generated will power the plant.

Vernon Read, Managing Director at Staples said: "The project will provide integrated power generation giving us control not only over future pricing of power, but also over power security."

The Environmental Transformation Fund - a collaboration between Defra, DECC and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) aims to increase confidence in AD as a sustainable technology. With three additional Government-supported AD facilities opening this Spring and over 30 in the planning stage AD is now well on the way to being a tried and tested technology for the treatment of food waste in the UK. Marcus Gover, Director of Market Development at WRAP commented: "We're delighted this facility is now available in Lincolnshire and that the robust benefits of anaerobic digestion technology will be reaped not only by Staples Vegetables, but local authorities, communities and businesses across the UK as this technology becomes increasingly mainstream.

"AD is a growing part of the resource-efficiency solution, capable of reducing biodegradable waste from landfill so reducing methane emissions, creating renewable energy, stimulating the green economy and improving the sustainability of commercial agriculture."

Helen Amos