The Poplars facility near Cannock, Staffordshire has been built by Biffa and will take food waste from both households and businesses, producing enough renewable energy to power 6,000 homes.
It forms part of Biffa’s expanding network of AD plants and follows on from the launch of the company’s national food waste recycling service for businesses earlier in the year.
Speaking at the launch, Biffa’s chief executive, Ian Wakelin, said: “This is the future of waste. It is taking food that could once only be sent to landfill and turning it into something of value on a truly industrial scale.”
Every year, the UK throws away around 15 million tonnes of food waste and it is thought that around half of this comes from businesses.
Maxine Perella