The Environmental Agency creates energy from leftover food

The Environment Agency has become one of the first public sector organisations to create energy from its leftover food.

In a new scheme, the food waste from 37 of the organisation's sites is now being collected and taken to a biomass plant run by the UK largest food waste recycler, the PDM group, where it is turned into renewable energy.
 
The participating sites create around 4.3 tonnes of food waste every month. This generates around 4.29 megawatts of renewable energy, or enough to power an average Environment Agency office for a week. It also saves 1.65 tonnes of CO2 per month.
 
This is the latest in a series of measures the Environment Agency has taken to reduce the environmental impact of its everyday business. Over 99% of the electricity used by the Environment Agency is from renewable sources, recycling facilities are available in every office and the organisation's green travel policy has led to a mileage reduction of over 11.2 million miles in three years. It has also managed to cut it's overall carbon footprint by 14% and its water use by 10% in two years.
 
These efforts have earned the Environment Agency a place in the Sunday Times Green List's top ten green businesses – the only public sector body to appear in the top ten.

Graham Ledward, director of resources at the Environment Agency said: "It is vitally important that we set an example when it comes to the environmental impacts of our day to day business activities. This new food waste scheme will divert waste from landfill and help to create more renewable energy.
 
 "We put the environment at the heart of everything we do. It is important that we help set new standards on environmental performance and show public and private sector organisations not only that it can be done, but that it can be cost effective."

Words: Maria Bracken

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