More food waste from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will be used to generate renewable energy under a new partnership between two South Coast companies.
Dorset’s Eco Sustainable Solutions has joined forces with Hampshire-based TJ Waste and Recycling to provide a new service that increases the amount of food waste sent for green power generation.
Food waste dropped at TJ’s recovery facility in Yapton, West Sussex, will be transported by the company’s fleet of trucks to Eco’s anaerobic digestion plant in Parley, close to Bournemouth Airport. The facility can handle over 50,000 tonnes of food waste each year, generating around 60 gigawatt hours of biomethane – the equivalent of the annual energy needs of 5,300 medium-sized homes.
Eco also operates another plant in Piddlehinton near Dorchester, which has already generated 106,000 megawatt hours of electricity and prevented more than 278,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. Last year nearly 37,000 tonnes of food waste were processed at that site.
Luke Haskell, director at TJ Waste and Recycling, said the tie-up comes as food waste collections are set to rise under the government’s new Simpler Recycling rules, introduced in April. “By combining complementary assets and experience, TJ and Eco are providing much-needed infrastructure for sustainable resource management,” he said.
Peter Hardy, sales director at Eco, added: “Efficient food waste recycling can deliver huge benefits for businesses, the local environment and long-term sustainability. We’re pleased to be working with TJ on this initiative.”
Food waste industry figures show that 60 per cent of all food waste comes from households, with the rest spread across farms, manufacturing, hospitality and retail. A House of Commons research paper found that wasted food and drink accounted for about 18 million tonnes of carbon emissions in 2021 and 2022.
According to WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, millions of items are wasted every day in UK homes, including 24 million slices of bread, 8.2 million potatoes and more than two million glasses of milk.
The new partnership is expected to ensure more of that waste is recycled locally into energy, rather than being sent to landfill or incineration.
