Anaerobic digestion: The future of food waste disposal

The issue with food waste

Every year the UK throws away around 9.5 million tonnes of waste food.¹ Wales and Scotland has made outstanding progress in addressing the issue of household and commercial kitchen waste.

Food waste legislation changes

The British Government has thrown its weight behind the anaerobic digestion (AD) sector. It has argued that turning the millions of tonnes of waste produced in the country each year into energy was a no-brainer. This is now coming to fruition with legislative changes coming into effect in England.

Non-household municipal premises

From 31 March 2025, new recycling regulations will come into effect. Businesses across England (excluding micro-firms with fewer than 10 full-time employees) will have to meet certain requirements. They will need to ensure that all food scraps and waste is separated out from other wastes. It will also have to be presented separately for collection by an approved contractor. This includes: 

• all businesses; 
• prisons; 
• hospitals; 
• care homes; 
• office blocks; 
• schools and colleges; 
• garages and transport hubs.

Commercial food waste legislation has been in place in Scotland since 2014, and the legislation was introduced in Wales in April 2024.

Domestic households

Waste collection authorities are legally required to make sure that waste is collected from households in their area. From 31 March 2026, waste collection authorities must provide weekly food waste collections from all households, to allow people to dispose of odorous organic waste frequently.

Naturally prevention is the best cure. Many local authorities send their kitchen waste to composting instead of an anaerobic digester, but it is a much better option instead of incineration or disposal.

What is anaerobic digestion?

Anaerobic digestion is a natural process that breaks down organic matter, such as food waste recycled from households, animal manure, and municipal waste, in the absence of oxygen. These digestion processes produce biogas, which primarily consists of methane and carbon dioxide. The biogas can be used to generate electricity or be converted into vehicle fuel and transport fuels. Additionally, this digestion process can effectively manage sewage sludge and energy crops, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By utilising this innovative technology, any food waste disposer can contribute to sustainable waste management and energy production through combined heat and power systems.

How can anaerobic digestion help?

Biogas is not only clean and green, but it helps to decarbonise the difficult areas to reach, such as heat and transport. It’s also a way of recycling organic waste that might have otherwise gone to landfill, helping restore nutrients and organic matter to soils and improve air quality.

Moving forward, local authorities will need to consider food waste collection contracts and any financial penalties that could be incurred if these need amending or cancelled. They’ll also need to consider how best to deal with the food waste once collected.

While AD plants are a fantastic way to treat food waste, the financial models to construct and operate the plants need careful consideration.

Add to this the benefits AD plants and the industry can bring to jobs and the circular economy. Plus, public opinion and our obligation to mitigate climate change, then food waste treated by AD ticks all these boxes.

Managing your risks with anaerobic digestion insurance

Once the final decision has been reached on the model you wish to adopt, it’s vital that the entire chain understands and mitigates risks. Anaerobic digestion plants, when constructed and operated correctly, work extremely well and are very robust. However, they are in essence power plants and can have the same complexities, which you see in much larger power plants.

In order to carry out full due diligence, when entering into the development of your plant, you need to consider the four stages of your project, which are:

• conception and development;
• construction;
• operation;
• decommissioning.

There are potential risks and renewable energy insurance considerations at each stage of the project lifecycle.

Here to help

When you begin to engage on delivering your project, make sure that you seek advice from experienced professionals who have a proven track record in this sector.

Sources

1. businesswaste.co.uk/food-waste-the-facts