PDM plans anaerobic digestion plants

UK-based food company PDM plans to invest £40 million (€48.5 million) into building a network of anaerobic digestion plants throughout this year. The plants, to be built under a project which the company has dubbed ReFood, will be built in Widnes and East London, UK.

The two plants come after PDM’s first anaerobic digester was deemed a success after it was built at its headquarters in Doncaster.

The new facilities will be twice the size of this first facility, each handling 90,000 tonnes of food waste a year and producing 4MWh of renewable energy.

If granted planning permission, the Widnes plant will be built at the existing PDM facility, allowing for a food waste recycling hub that incorporates rendering, biomass to energy and anaerobic digestion.

The feedstock will be collected from local restaurants, households, retailers and other venues in order to produce electricity to the national grid. A fertiliser will be produced as a byproduct of the process.

Philip Simpson, commercial director at PDM says: ‘Food waste is recognised as an issue the UK needs to overcome, not only is it a complete waste of a resource by letting it rot in landfill, capacity at these sites is falling fast and AD offers the ideal solution. Our AD plant in Doncaster is performing well, and we’re keen to keep the momentum going in developing our ReFood network to provide regional solutions for food waste across the UK.’

Both plants are expected to create about 40 jobs each and construction is expected to begin in October 2012, finishing in 2013.