Generating Power from Food Waste

Food waste is a tremendous problem, as food buried in landfills releases toxic methane gas as it decomposes. However, composting isn't always doable, which is why a U.K. group called Biogen Ltd has plans to build four or more facilities this year that generate electricity from food waste.

Supermarkets and businesses in the U.K. are already being encouraged to send their food waste to anaerobic digestion facilities. Legislation aimed at expanding the waste-to-energy industry in the UK has led to a landfill tax that has made it increasingly expensive to bury waste.

A UK group called Biogen Ltd plans to build a number of power plants that generate electricity from food waste. Construction on four or more plants is planned to begin soon, and Biogen hopes to have doubled their food waste processing capacity to 200,000 tons a year by 2014.

According to the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change, within eight years bioenergy plants fueled by wood chips, food, and agricultural waste could provide 8% to 11% of the nation's energy.