Fact
There are 15 AD plants in the UK today licensed to take food waste including animal by products.
Three of these are owned by BiogenGreenfinch.
Our History
BiogenGreenfinch, part of the Bedfordia Group, is unique in the UK in both building and operating anaerobic digestion plants. It is a British owned, family business with over 30 years experience within the anaerobic digestion industry.
Two of the UK's leading environmental businesses and anaerobic digestion specialists – BIOGEN (UK) and Greenfinch – in October 2008 were brought together by Bedfordia. All three companies grew from family businesses with strong values, which we continue to uphold.
BIOGEN (UK), established in 2005, developed an innovative farm-based application of anaerobic digestion. The long-sighted vision came from our chairman, John Ibbett, while our operations director, Andrew Needham, carried out the business research to make it possible.
BIOGEN's pioneering Twinwoods plant near Bedford began operating that year in partnership with sister company Bedfordia Farms. Each year the plant recycles 42,000 tonnes of food waste and slurry from Bedfordia's pig farming operation.
Greenfinch was founded by Michael Chesshire in 1993 as a process engineering company providing British anaerobic digestion technology with sewage sludge digesters, farm digesters and food waste digesters as its main areas of expertise.
Greenfinch designed, built and operated Biocycle - the South Shropshire Biodigester in Ludlow, the first of its kind in the UK to process source-separated municipal kitchen waste into biogas and a biofertiliser.
Moving forward
The first of our second generation anaerobic digestion plants came on stream in June 2009 at Westwood, near Rushden in Northamptonshire, and can process 45,000 tonnes of food waste each year.
We are planning a national network of commercial anaerobic digestion plants, modified to individual circumstances but based on a consistent core design. These plants will be rolled out in partnership with landowners, food waste producers, local authorities, waste management companies and farmers.
Significant investment in R&D will seek to continuously improve plant, equipment and processes, thereby increasing the efficiency of the whole operation.
