Eco Sustainable Solutions has officially opened a £20 million anaerobic digestion facility at its Parley site in Dorset, processing more than 50,000 tonnes of food waste per year into biomethane for injection into the local gas network.
The plant produces biomethane at a rate of 900 cubic metres per hour, enough to heat approximately 7,000 homes. It was commissioned earlier this year and handles food waste collected from the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area.
Planning permission for the facility was granted more than a decade ago, with construction beginning in 2024. The plant sits within Eco's 40-acre Eco Park at Parley and employs six full-time operators.
Justin Dampney, managing director of Eco Sustainable Solutions, said: "This facility, which has been developed as a response to the government's Simpler Recycling reforms, operates around the clock and has the capacity to recycle more than 1,000 tonnes of food waste every week. This material is transformed into renewable biomethane injected into the gas network, along with a nutrient-rich biofertiliser, for agriculture."
The company began 31 years ago as a two-person green waste composting operation and now employs 53 staff with an annual turnover exceeding £20 million. It operates sites at Parley, Piddlehinton and Weymouth, recycling green, wood, road sweepings and food waste for BCP Council and Dorset Council among other clients.
In 2025, the company said it prevented more than 120,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere by diverting waste from landfill. Since it began trading, Eco has recycled more than 4.3 million tonnes of organic material.
