All food waste could be recycled

2:59pm Thursday 20th November 2008

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PLANS have been drawn up for three centres that could recycle food waste from all homes in Oxfordshire from next year.

Recycling company Agrivert has submitted a £6m scheme to build a plant on Green Belt land at Cassington. A food waste plant near Ardley – also costing £6m – would serve the north of the county under the plan. It is proposed both plants could be operating by next autumn.

A third £6m plant between Wallingford and Benson, to serve south Oxfordshire, would follow in 2010.

It has emerged Agrivert wants to create a pioneering anaerobic digestion facility at Worton Farm, Cassington, which would turn up to 26,000 tonnes of food waste into electricity and compost.

An anaerobic digestion facility uses technology which involves mixing food waste with energy crop silage to produce methane. The methane is used to power a gas engine, which subsequently generates electricity. As well as saving food from being buried in landfill, the company said anaerobic digestion could eventually produce enough electricity to supply ten per cent of all households in Oxford.

Agrivert marketing director, Harry Waters, said: “What we are proposing is pioneering. Using anaerobic digestion on this scale has never been attempted. It will be the first plant of its kind to operate at county level.”

The planning application will go to the county council’s planning and regulation committee on Monday.

But the report by Chris Cousins, head of sustainable development, said the development on a Green Belt site was justified by the need for a facility to help the council meet recycling targets.

It adds: “Potential local impacts, such as smell, would not be significant and could be adequately mitigated against and controlled.

“The locational benefits and the limited visual harm to the Green Belt constitute very special circumstances for allowing this development in the Green Belt.”

The county council invited bids from companies to treat food waste last year.

The council said a decision is yet to be made about who will be the preferred bidder.

A planning application to create what would be Oxford’s second anaerobic digestion plant, on farmland, off the A4074 between Benson to Wallingford Road will be submitted next year.

It is understood if Agrivert wins the contract, it would build and operate the three facilities, with the county council paying gate fees for the waste delivered from homes.

The county council said it was still determined to stick to its plans to see food waste recycled by the spring. The company that secures the contract would be expected to make arrangements for food waste while the plants in Oxfordshire are being built.

The giant composting centre at Ardley would be close to the site where an waste incinerator is being proposed in an entirely separate scheme. Ardley and Sutton Courtenay are two sites shortlisted by Oxfordshire County Council to build incinerators to burn non-recyclable waste.