Anaerobic digestion is a well proven renewable energy and waste management technology. It produces renewable energy in the form of biogas from organic materials such as manures and slurries, food waste and sewage sludge.

In order to make the most of the potential of anaerobic digestion to contribute to climate change, waste management and wider environmental objectives, Defra has recently released a report (Developing an Implementation Plan for Anaerobic Digestion) which contains recommendations covering the themes of Economics and infrastructure.

Responding to the Defra publication, Andrew Kuyk, the Food and Drink Federation's (FDF) Director of Sustainability and Competitiveness, said: “Anaerobic digestion will make a key contribution to the goal set out in the Food and Drink Federation's Five-fold Environmental Ambition of seeking to send zero food and packaging waste to landfill from factories from 2015.

Government must support the practical recommendations made in this report if we are to give a much-needed boost to anaerobic digestion capacity in England, and ensure the food industry can deliver on its ambition.

FDF was one of a number of expert bodies involved in the broad Government-appointed task group that produced this report, so we look forward to a positive response from Ministers later this year.

“Some of the key priorities highlighted in the report include the importance of developing a proportionate, risk-based regulatory framework for anaerobic digestion; establishing cost effective systems for the separate collection of food waste from both commercial and municipal sources; and promoting greater awareness of the opportunities afforded by this technology among communities, particularly to increase participation in separate food waste collection schemes.”

To read Defra report click here.