Fact
Food waste sent to landfill emits methane which enters the atmosphere. Methane is 22 times more damaging than CO2.
About us
“BiogenGreenfinch is unique. It is the only specialist British anaerobic digestion company that can design, build and operate large-scale anaerobic digestion plants with a proven track record." Richard Barker, CEO, BiogenGreenfinch.
We take what everyone throws away – waste from the UK food chain.
In a low carbon process, we recycle waste food in our anaerobic digestion (AD) plants to make renewable energy. All that remains is a liquid, rich in nutrients, which we return to the land as a biofertiliser to grow crops, replacing fossil fuel derived fertilisers.
Our digesters are filled with food waste from homes, shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels, offices and the factories producing and processing our food. Nothing is wasted: it is the truly green alternative to landfill: our AD plants are helping to make landfill history. No other alternative can match the environmental credentials of anaerobic digestion.
Disposing of food waste to landfill is no longer acceptable because of the damage it does to the environment and its contribution to climate change through methane and other gases escaping into the atmosphere. Increasingly it is prohibited by regulations and made expensive through the imposition of special landfill taxes. We must act now.
Protecting the planet
BiogenGreenfinch: we’re a national company with offices in Bedfordshire and and Shropshire, designing, building, owning and operating commercial-scale anaerobic digestion plants for processing food waste.
Food waste is a serious problem – some 18 million tonnes is produced in the UK every year, of which roughly 6 million tonnes has to be collected by local authorities. No wonder these authorities are concerned, no wonder the whole food industry is concerned.
Treating food waste in an anaerobic digester is cost-competitive with landfill and other alternatives, and it is more environmentally sustainable. It is recognised by the UK government, Defra, the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament, Friends of the Earth, the National Farmers Union and others as one of the best methods for the sustainable management of food waste.
In anaerobic digesters food waste breaks down into methane gas. All this methane gas is captured and super-efficient gas engines then use it to generate renewable electricity and heat– all that remains is a liquid fertiliser, rich in nutrients, which goes back onto the land to grow crops, substituting for fossil fuel derived fertilisers. During the process, no methane is released to the atmosphere. It is our contribution to protecting the planet.
† Source: WRAP (Waste & Resources ActionProgramme) www.wrap.org.uk: Household Food and Drink Waste in the UK, published by Waste & Resources ActionProgramme, Banbury, November 2009. ISBN: 1-84405-430-6 www.wrap.org.uk/foodanddrinkwaste.
