What happens to your food waste recycling

The food waste you produce is sent to an anaerobic digestion facility, where it’s turned into renewable energy and an agricultural fertiliser.

The process uses naturally occurring micro-organisms to break the waste down into a compost-like product used as a soil conditioner and fertiliser on farmland, and biogas (mainly methane). The biogas produced is fed into the National Gas Grid, helping to power homes and businesses.

Food waste recycling process

The food waste you produce is recycled using the following process:

1. Residents separate their food waste for recycling and present their food waste boxes for collection each week
2. Our waste collection contactor empties the food waste boxes and delivers the contents to the West London Waste Authority’s depot in Transport Avenue in Brentford
3. Bio Collectors collect your food from the depot and take it to their anaerobic digestion plant in Mitcham to begin the recycling process
4. Bio Collectors do their best to mechanically remove any packaging, plastic, or other materials contaminating the food waste. It is then broken down into small particles
5. The resulting food waste is pumped through a series of temperature-controlled tanks and is carefully monitored to ensure the bacteria have the optimal conditions to digest the food effectively
6. After 72 hours, the waste produces bio-gas which is filtered, screened for purity, and fed into the National Gas Grid
7. Once the bio-gas has been released the food waste turns into a 'digestate', a compost-like material meeting the PAS110 standard which is used as a soil conditioner and fertiliser on farmland