biogas Facts & FAQs

One of our primary products, Bio-fertiliser, is natural chemical-free fertiliser which contains all the necessary nutrients for plant growth as well as lots of micro-organisms for healthy soil.

• The UK government aims to supply 15% of energy from renewable sources and to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% of 1990 levels by the year 2020.
• According to DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, August 2008) at its full potential, AD could produce enough electricity to power 2 million homes.
• Research from WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Program) has found that total food waste in the UK is around 18-20 million tonnes each year.
• If 20 million tonnes of food waste were used to generate electricity through AD rather than being sent to landfill, the carbon saving would be around 3.4 million tonnes per year.
• Waste food sent to landfill is a major contributor to the production of greenhouse gases in the UK. Once in landfill, food breakdown produces methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more harmful to the environment than CO² (carbon dioxide). AD captures any methane produced and converts it to renewable energy and heat.

“Separating waste at the earliest possible stage will help recover the maximum value from different materials. By separating food waste, we will avoid contaminating other materials and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as generate more renewable energy.”
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead

Diverting food waste from landfill

In an attempt to significantly reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, the EU has issued a set of directives which will see biodegradable waste being recycled by processes such as Anaerobic Digestion. By 2013, the UK aims to have reduced waste going to landfill by up to 8 million tonnes per annum.

The Scottish Government is introducing Landfill bans for specific waste types, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and capturing their value.

Difficulties with landfill

As biodegradable waste breaks down in landfill sites, it naturally produces methane and carbon dioxide, which can continue being released into the atmosphere for anything up to several hundred years after a site has been closed. Both of these gases play a major role in global warming, climate change and damage to the ozone layer.

The Proximity principle

The Proximity Principle states that waste should be recycled/treated/disposed of as close to its place of origin as possible. This makes perfect sense when you consider that transportation accounts for 22% of the UK's carbon emissions, and represents a huge financial cost. Our Cumbernauld facility is ideally located to serve the Central Belt.

What is anaerobic digestion?

It is a natural biological process for treating biodegradable residues by means of bacterial action in the absence of oxygen. It is a fully proven commercial process which generates a biogas which can be used via a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit to generate electricity and heat for export and a liquid bio-fertiliser that can be used for application on land.