Scottish Water Waste Services' proposed Deerdykes anaerobic digestion (AD) facility at Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, has been awarded £1.7 million worth of funding from the WRAP Organics Programme.

The facility, which is set to be the first large-scale food waste processing AD plant in Scotland, will be used to process 30,000 tonnes-a-year of food waste, generating up to 1MW of electricity.

Liz Goodwin, chief executive of WRAP and Donald MacBrayne of Scottish Water at the Deerdykes site

Meanwhile, the heat produced in the process will be used on site and at nearby factories, such as the AG Barr drinks factory which makes Irn-Bru.

It is also set to produce digestate which, it is hoped, will meet PAS 110 quality standard - which is currently awaiting approval by the technical standards committee of the European Commission.

The site is already home to an in-vessel composting facility.

In total, the WRAP Organics Programme has set aside £6 million to increase organic recycling capacity in Scotland by 125,000 tonnes by 2011.

Iain Gulland, WRAP director for Scotland, said: "WRAP is making a significant investment in an innovative facility which will take recycling in Scotland to a new level.

"The anaerobic digestion plant at Deerdykes will convert waste from Scottish homes and businesses into a range of useful products - creating economic as well as environmental benefits. We want to see more schemes like this and are currently inviting bids for capital funding."

Scottish Water

Scottish Water Waste Services (SWWS) has already signed contracts for the design and build of the facility (see letsrecycle.com story) and it is expected that it will be up-and-running by spring 2010.

SWWS waste services manager, Donald MacBrayne, commented: "We are excited about this development, which is a first for Scotland in creating energy for homes and businesses from food we throw away. It will also produce fertilisers which are cheaper and more environmentally beneficial than chemical alternatives.

He added that the funding would allow the company to "press ahead" with its plans and begin delivering economic and environmental benefits "as soon as possible".

Commenting on the development, Scottish environment secretary, Richard Lochhead said: "Facilities such as this contribute significantly to the achievement of Scottish Government's Zero Waste targets. The new Deerdykes facility will reduce organic waste to landfill, and the creation of agricultural fertiliser as a by-product is an additional bonus which shows real innovation.

"I truly believe that by continuing to work together - the Scottish Government, private sector, local authorities and the public - we will achieve our objective and make Scotland a Zero Waste society."