A food waste recycling firm believes it can continue to cope with increasing demand as it marks its 10th birthday this month.

Local Generation operates a food waste-fed anaerobic digestion facility at its plant in March, which has a capacity to process 120,000 metric tonnes of food waste a year.

Since opening in 2011, the site on Wisbech Road has processed nearly 935,000 tonnes of food waste and generated over 40 million watts of electric capacity (MWe).

Carl Thompson, plant manager, said: “We’ve seen not only the capacity of waste we can accept grow, but also our output and the number of customers that work with us to sustainably recycle their food waste.

“Using food waste to generate heat and electricity is very topical now and we’re receiving lots more enquiries about how we can support businesses to do this.”

Wisbech Standard: Food waste recycling firm Local Generation mark 10 years since their site on Wisbech Road, March opened.Food waste recycling firm Local Generation mark 10 years since their site on Wisbech Road, March opened. (Image: BioteCH4)

Local Generation’s March site, located on seven acres of land, generates its own electricity, powers its own buildings and processes using the energy it generates from this.

It has also commissioned a third anaerobic digester, meaning the site will have 1000m₃ additional capacity.

It means that an extra 2.5MWe of green energy can be generated as it tries to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Wisbech Standard: Local Generation operates a food waste-fed anaerobic digestion facility at its plant in March, which has a capacity to process 120,000 metric tonnes of food waste a year.Local Generation operates a food waste-fed anaerobic digestion facility at its plant in March, which has a capacity to process 120,000 metric tonnes of food waste a year. (Image: BioteCH4)

Sixteen people from the local area are also employed at the plant, and the workforce is continuing to grow.

Victoria Peat, chief operating officer at BioteCH4 which Local Generation is a part of, said: “We are lucky that at Local Generation, we have talented employees from the local community.

“Employing local people who can walk or cycle to work where possible all helps our overall aim of reducing our carbon footprint.”

Local Generation provides food waste management solutions for a variety of industries, as well as generating electricity through food waste recycling.

This includes solutions for local authorities, food manufacturers and producers, food distributers, waste management companies and commercial food waste businesses.

Wisbech Standard: Local Generation operates a food waste-fed anaerobic digestion facility at its plant in March, which has a capacity to process 120,000 metric tonnes of food waste a year.Local Generation operates a food waste-fed anaerobic digestion facility at its plant in March, which has a capacity to process 120,000 metric tonnes of food waste a year. (Image: BioteCH4)

Mr Thompson added: “It’s a busy time for our teams, but one we’re very capable of dealing with.”

For more information on Local Generation and the BioteCH4 group, visit: https://biotech4.co.uk/.