£2m Ludlow biodigester is to be turned back on
Ludlow's ground-breaking £2 million biodigester is to be switched back on after a charity agreed to take over responsibility for it.
The biodigester plant – which converts food scraps into electricity and landfill – was turned off in September last year after contracts expired with operator Biocycle.
But it is soon to be working again after agreement was reached for environmental charity the Cwm Harry Land Trust to take it over.
The agreement with Shropshire Council, which owns the machine, will see the charity operate the biodigester for the "foreseeable future".
Gwilym Butler, outgoing Biocycle company chairman, said: "The anaerobic digester was built with grant funding received from Advantage West Midlands and DEFRA as a small scale demonstration facility capable of treating 5,000 tonnes of waste a year.
"The plant helped prove the technology in the UK, leading to a huge growth in this green energy sector, and has led to a number of the leading companies in the industry to set up businesses in the area."
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for waste management, said it would mark the start of a "new era" for the biodigester, with the potential of creating new jobs and boosting the economy in Ludlow and south Shropshire.
The biodigester can treat most types of food waste that would otherwise be disposed of in landfill sites and generates a renewable source of 'green' electricity, heat and a compost type product.
Cwm Harry has had a long association with Biocycle and the biodigester and previously supplied the plant with food waste.
Adam Kennerley, chief executive of the charity, said Cwm Harry currently operated a composting site based in Newtown, Powys, and had operated in the field for several years.
"Plans for the site include increasing the environmental and resource services offered locally, and making the facility a centre of training and excellence for the anaerobic digestion industry that has a strong presence in the south Shropshire area," he said.
Cwm Harry was formally admitted onto the board of the Biocycle company earlier this year and will take over the day-to-day running of the biodigester immediately, with Shropshire Council continuing to own the biodigester.
