John Pointon & Sons (JPS), a Staffordshire-based rendering and food waste collection business, has received a £1.44 million grant towards building an anaerobic digestion facility at its headquarters in Cheddleton.
The £12 million facility, which will generate up to 2MW of renewable energy, is set to process up to 60,000 tonnes-a-year of commercial and industrial food waste. The feedstock will be comprised of wastes such as pet food, blood, chocolate and pastry and will come from JPS' contracts with local commercial and industrial operators.
The grant is being delivered by WRAP on behalf of Advantage West Midlands (AWM), the Regional Development Agency for the West Midlands.
Barney Williams, technical director at JPS, commented: “We are delighted to receive this funding from WRAP. A detailed design of the plant has been finalised and now that we have received planning approval, the project will move into the construction phase later this year.
“This is one of the most exciting projects in the region and a major renewable energy development in the UK. We are looking forward to developing our AD facility as a natural symbiosis between our core business, developed over the past 30 years, and the development of our future renewable energy strategy.”
Commercial and industrial waste
JPS was awarded the funding following an open call for bids last year offering support for projects which would divert a significant amount of West Midlands' commercial and industrial waste from landfill using an ABPR (Animal By-Product Regulations) compliant process.
The JPS development is set to include a pre-treatment facility, an advanced digestion plant, a biogas system and de-watering system, all of which will be part-funded by the grant. In total, it is estimated that the facility will divert 195,000 tonnes of combined commercial and industrial waste from landfill in the first five years of operation.
Steve Creed, director for business resource efficiency WRAP commented: “Since its inception, the AWM Programme has helped many West Midlands recycling businesses of all sizes to develop their operations and this support is forecast to culminate in over 2.5 million tonnes of C&I waste being diverted from landfill by 2015.
“The capital funding we provide is crucial in stimulating private investment, as is the case with JPS. When finished, this AD facility will be a very impressive operation. With feedstock coming from local commercial and industrial waste streams, this will benefit local businesses and create local jobs.”
WRAP is currently working with the AWM to maximise recycling opportunities in the region.
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