Power from food

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Scottish households will have to sort food waste from other rubbish so it can be used to generate electricity under new SNP plans due to be brought in by 2013.

Councils, as well as businesses such as supermarkets and restaurants, will have to dispose of food separately from other refuse within three years, under the ambitious Zero Waste Plan, published yesterday.

The Scottish government said that it hopes the changes in the way rubbish is collected will help cut down on the amount of waste being sent to landfill. The SNP wants to see the food waste put through anaerobic digesters, which turn the organic matter into energy and fertiliser.
Richard Lochhead, the environment secretary, said: "There is an estimated 2.1 million tonnes of food waste produced in Scotland each year. If even half of this was captured and processed through anaerobic digestion it would generate enough electricity to power a city the size of Dundee for six months and produce around 10 per cent of Scotland's arable fertiliser needs.

"As well as reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, our food waste could greatly contribute to our renewable energy targets."