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Portland Opens New Anaerobic Digestion Recycling Plant

A new anaerobic digestion plant called ecomaine has opened in Portland, USA, to help its communities meet their state-wide recycling targets.

It hopes this food waste recycling service will allow local areas to reach the recycling goal of 50 per cent over the next five years, Waste Management World reported.

Exeter Agri-Energy will deliver food waste collected by ecomaine to the anaerobic digester to recover any energy available.

Troy Moon, board chairman of ecomaine, told the news provider: “We are committed to delivering sustainable waste management solutions that conform to the Main Department of Environmental Protection’s Solid Waste Management Hierarchy.”

He went on to note that studies show organic substances account for 40 per cent of the waste stream, and half of this is food.

“Providing towns and businesses with an easy way to divert this material from the waste stream will help our communities be more sustainable,” Mr moon added.

The Exeter Agri-Energy will collect food waste and de-package it, so there is no ‘ick factor’ when it comes to handling old produce.

Its anaerobic digestion system, which will employ the use of breather valves, then takes the organics and cow manure and turns this into biogas, which can then be used to power as many as 800 homes.

This comes after it was announced a new anaerobic digestion plant will be built in Nottinghamshire.

The £13 million Stud Farm, Rufford, site will use straw, poultry litter and feedstock and turn this into electricity. This will then be supplied to local businesses, with the surplus going to the National Grid.