The pilot is being operated at 28 Wetherspoon’s sites for an initial trial period. Much of the food waste collected from these sites will be taken to Biffa’s anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Poplars, West Midlands.

The waste contractor already collects glass for recycling and general waste for the chain throughout the country.

Biffa’s group sales & marketing director Bob Barltrop said: “Wetherspoon’s already divert a huge amount of waste from landfill and adding food waste recycling to this is a clear demonstration that, increasingly, the food industry takes its environmental responsibility seriously.

“It’s the right thing to do and, as landfill tax costs continue to rise it makes good business sense; it will increasingly be the cheapest thing to do with food waste. In fact collection contracts such as this are set to be the most economical way for businesses of all sizes to deal with food and general waste.”

Biffa’s Poplars plant claims to be the largest food AD plant in the country and has the capacity to process 120,000 tonnes of material every year.

Maxine Perella

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