The food waste collection and disposal company based in Aycliffe is now working with food catering specialists Taylor Shaw to process the leftover food waste from over 200 schools across Durham for the production of biogas.
John Warren ABP, which collects food waste for its subsidiary company Emerald Biogas – the north east’s only commercial food waste anaerobic digestion facility – has secured a contract from Taylor Shaw to collect the unwanted food from over 20,000 children and turn it into green energy.
The food waste will be taken through the natural process of anaerobic digestion at the plant in Newton Aycliffe, where it is turned into heat and energy and also produces an organic fertiliser for local farmers. The facility creates enough renewable energy to power 2,000 homes and is fed into the national grid.
Together, schools across the UK produce 80,000 tonnes of food waste annually, with over 16 kilograms collected on average in a primary school every day. In response to the demand from industry to tackle the issue, Emerald Biogas developed an anaerobic digestion plant, the only facility of its kind in the North East.
Antony Warren, Director at John Warren ABP, said: “We are delighted to be working with Taylor Shaw, a responsible and forward-thinking company. Although everything is done to help reduce the amount of food waste produced in schools, inevitably there will be some leftover food from pupils, teachers and in the school kitchen, which cannot be used in any other way and needs to be disposed of.
“However, as food waste to landfill is a growing concern, the new partnership with Taylor Shaw will mean that instead of the waste being landfilled or incinerated, it can be used in a much more environmentally-friendly way. Through this innovative solution, by collaborating with Taylor Shaw we can jointly help to create renewable heat, electricity and a bio-fertiliser, all of which is beneficial to the local community and helps towards creating a sustainable circular economy.
We are already seeing the impact of the new partnership at the Emerald Biogas AD facility, so it is a great boost for our new business too.”
Lynda Walker, General Manager for Taylor Shaw, said: “Our partnership and experience with John Warren’s has been both extremely positive and invaluable in helping us reduce our carbon footprint, making our contract in County Durham much more sustainable.”
With over three generations waste management experience and family owned, John Warren ABP offers a food disposal service at Hamsterley, County Durham, and has progressed into the next generation of food processing.
For more information about John Warren ABP visit www.jwarrenabp.com or call 01388 488215.
(L to R) Jane Armstong, Regional Sales Manager for John Warren ABP & Lynda Walker, General Manager, Taylor Shaw.
