AD operator Fernbrook Bio wins first council deal

The operators of an anaerobic digestion plant in Kettering, Northamptonshire, have won their first contract to treat local authority waste.

Fernbrook Bio has entered into a seven year contract to treat food waste on behalf of Northampton borough council and Daventry district council.

The contract, which began in February 2012, will see 12,000 tonnes of food waste per year processed at the Kettering AD facility. The AD facility currently has the capacity to process up to 30,000 tonnes of food waste per year, creating 1.5 megawatts of electricity for the national grid and producing digestate which is used by local farmers.

Food waste is collected from the boroughs in caddies supplied to 120,000 households. It is anticipated that as a result of the contract, Northampton and Daventry councils could send as much as 30% less waste to landfill.

Private contracts

The Fernbrook Bio AD plant began operating in September 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story), and alongside household waste, it processes waste from supermarkets and food manufacturers which is supplied by RUR3 Environmental Ltd which also procures food waste from waste management companies and local authorities.

Fernbrook Bio managing director Shaun Cherry said: The council contract gives us a bit of stability, and amounts to nearly half of the waste that is processed on site. The service has been rolled out gradually over six weeks, and is now at full capacity. So far it has run very well.

The firm currently has planning permission to increase the AD capacity to 45,000 tonnes of waste per year, and expects the additional capacity to be in place by early 2013.

Partnership

The food waste collections form part of the arrangement under Northampton and Daventry councils waste partnership. The councils entered into partnership in 2010 in an attempt to save procurement and administration costs for provision of their waste services.

The councils appointed Enterprise Managed Services as their waste and recycling collection contractor in April 2011, after the company was name preferred bidder in March (see letsrecycle.com story). As well as waste and recycling collections including collections of food waste – the seven-year deal between Enterprise and the councils also includes parks maintenance and street cleaning.