Scottish Water Waste Services has been awarded a licence to begin recycling food waste following the installation of a multi-million pound system at its composting site near Cumbernauld.

Scottish food producers and distributors are being encouraged to get in touch to see how they can benefit.

With climate change high on the agenda for many businesses and landfill tax set to increase by 50 per cent over the next two years, the Deerdykes site is offering a large scale sustainable solution and is the only plant in Central or Southern Scotland to do so.

Deerdykes has been recycling garden waste into environmentally friendly compost for more than three years and has recently developed the capabiity to turn food waste into a usable product too.

Scottish Water Waste Services’ business development manager, Donald MacBrayne, said: “This is another example of Scottish Water Waste Services leading the way with smart, green and innovative technology. Around a third of the refuse in our kitchen bins can be recycled by creating conditions in which natural bacteria can break down the waste.

“During anaerobic digestion, gases are produced which can be harnessed to produce electricity. Everything from food production waste, including food spoiled in transit, to out of date packaged food can be transformed into an efficient and environmentally friendly energy source.”

A contract has also just been awarded for the design and construction of a state-of-the-art anaerobic digestion plant. Planning permission for the site has been granted, project funding is in place and applications for permits are well underway.

The new plant will process food waste to produce green electricity which will be used to power the plant, some of the neighbouring industrial estates and may even be sold back to the National Grid. The plant will also produce heat which could be used in district heating schemes for local homes and businesses.

MSP Mike Russell, environment minister, visited the site earlier in the year, said: “One of the things we want to see is an increase in the amount of industrial and commercial waste being recycled or composted. The extension to Deerdykes is precisely the kind of forward-thinking that we want local authorities to undertake as we push to minimise the waste generated in Scotland.”

The target date for the anaerobic digestion site to be fully operational is April 2010. Monsal Ltd and HBS Construction Ltd (previously Henry Boot Scotland) will provide technical advice and design and build the plant.

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