AD facing new threat to supplies

The anaerobic digestion sector is facing more pressure on its supply material as The Pig Idea campaign ratchets up its call to feed more food waste to pigs rather than send it to AD plants.

Among its aims are for supermarkets to send bread, dairy, and fruit and vegetables unfit for human consumption for making into pigswill rather than to waste processing plants such as AD facilities.

According to the Pig Idea, companies have to pay considerable fees to have food waste disposed of via composting or AD. It suggests food manufacturers could sell their bread waste as livestock feed for 20 per tonne, instead of paying an anaerobic digestion plant 80 per tonne to dispose of it.

The campaign took its message to central London this week with a free lunch in Trafalgar Square where pork was served from pigs fed on permitted types of food waste.

Founded by environmental author Tristram Stuart and chef Thomasina Miers, the campaign has the support of organisations including Friends of the Earth, the Soil Association and the Sustainable Food Trust, as well as celebrities such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Phillip Schofield and Ben Fogle.

The Pig Idea would also like more food waste used in pigswill. But, there are currently restrictions on this because contaminated food waste in pigswill was seen as the prime cause of the 2001 foot and mouth epidemic.

Debate

Arguments abound in the farming and food sector over the ban with some farmers saying it is acceptable, as long as material is heated correctly to kill pathogens, while others see it as easier to buy crops to feed pigs.

Potential reductions in volumes for AD plants if more food waste was used in pigswill have caused concern at the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association. The sector has already this month seen Defra drop its proactive support for AD and responding to the pigswill debate, the association criticised the campaign for being antagonistic to anaerobic digestion.

A spokeswoman for ADBA told letsrecycle.com: We believe people should follow the waste hierarchy. In principle we do not see any issue with what Pig Idea are trying to achieve, but they have been quite antagonistic about anaerobic digestion in their campaign.

It would be great if we could get the volume of food waste down in the most appropriate way, but unless they can show farmers and the Environment Agency that food waste is safe for animal consumption I dont see how this can work.

James Beard, of the Renewable Energy Association, yesterday said the campaign had understated the role the organics recycling sector plays in offering an alternative to waste disposal, and added the REA planned to meet with the campaign organisers.

Concerns

Meanwhile, the National Pig Association has raised concerns over the campaign, warning its arguments are superficially attractive.

And, referring to production of crops used to feed pigs, chairman of the NPA Richard Longthorp argues the British pig industry already uses 1.23m tonnes a year of co-product from the human food chain, accounting for 43.9% of total pig feed produced.

He said: Pig producers prefer to describe waste food as co-product because, in the pig industrys view, no food is waste if it can be used safely in nutritious pig diets.

But any waste food we use must be clean, wholesome, contain zero porcine material and must have an independently-audited supply chain that is strictly controlled and regulated. Pig farmers stand ready to do everything they can to recycle waste food but that does not mean they are prepared to let their animals become societys dustbins.

Ben Briggs, news and business editor at the Farmers Guardian, commented: Simply from a diseases point of view it conjures up bad images of the industry; the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001 was linked to swill and I think the industry has moved on. I think AD plants are really moving the industry forward and using waste for energy production shows people are becoming a lot more business savvy.

While feeding food waste to pigs might get some headlines and appeal to certain consumers, there are long-term savings to be made in AD. Some small scale plants could be making 200,000 by sticking to the tariff and putting energy back into the national grid.

Speaking to letsrecycle.com today, Pig Idea campaign coordinator Edd Colbert said: Sending food waste to AD and compost, while better than landfill, is still technically wasting it. Beyond that if you continue to feed it to AD you are going to continue importing crops to feed pigs.

However, we would like to clarify the AD industry is not an enemy of ours in any way.

Prohibited

Meanwhile, Defra confirmed it had no plans to allow the feeding of catering waste to pigs. A spokeswoman said: Feeding farm animals catering waste, kitchen scraps or meat is prohibited to prevent introduction and spread of diseases, such as foot and mouth, swine fever and avian flu.