Food waste recycling company PDM Group has announced that construction work has begun at its Doncaster headquarters on its first ever anaerobic digestion facility.
The facility will treat up to 45,000 tonnes of waste food every year, sourced from local businesses, producing two megawatts of power.
PDM Group secured planning permission for the facility last year (see letsrecycle.com story) and plans to operate it under the ‘ReFood' brand. 
The plant is being developed in partnership with SARIA Bio-industries, which operates a network of ReFood plants in German, and is set to include the latest de-packing systems to handle all types of food waste from across the food chain – including that from food manufacturers, retailers, restaurants, hotels and households.
SARIA bought a 10% stake in PDM in July 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story), and the two companies have said they plan to jointly develop a food waste recycling network across the UK.
In addition to producing enough electricity to power 4,000 homes, the Doncaster facility will also produce heat which will be used on-site, and digestate which will be supplied to local farms for use as fertiliser.
Portfolio
Philip Simpson, commercial director at PDM, said: “We're delighted to see the start of construction of the ReFood plant. This venture helps to add another sustainable recycling solution to our existing portfolio.
“As a result, we're able to divert significant tonnages of food waste from landfill, where the methane that we can capture in the AD process could otherwise end up in the atmosphere, so it's a beneficial process on so many levels.”
The ReFood plant will take around nine months to build and will include a food waste reception area, depackaging plant, digestor and combined heat and power plant. The facility is due to open in summer 2011.
Once operational, ReFood is expected to create 35 jobs and recycle food waste from a number of PDM's leading customers including Sainsbury's and commercial caterer Baxter Storey.
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