Anaerobic digestion scheme key to cutting food and packing in landfill

A UK Government initiative on anaerobic digestion that includes using food and bioplastic packaging waste to create energy could play a key role in helping cut landfill volumes, said an industry body.

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) welcomed the government report called Developing an Implementation Plan for Anaerobic Digestion, saying it could make a vital contribution to its own bid to send zero food and packaging to landfill from factories from 2015 onwards.

The study, released yesterday by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), details ways in which anaerobic digestion could be boosted in the UK. Anaerobic digestion breaks down organic matter, such as food waste and animal manure, to produce biogas - a renewable energy source for heat, power and transport. Using anaerobic digestion also keeps organic waste out of landfill, which in turn cuts greenhouse gas emissions, said Defra.