As of the start of April 2026, all local authorities in England have been legally required to provide food waste collections to every household
Prior to this date, not every area in the country provided food waste collection, which meant that a great deal of waste that could be converted into energy was simply ending up in landfill.
In fact, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimates that UK households collectively bin enough edible food every year to fill 4,000 Olympic swimming pools.
But food caddies are designed not only for edible food, but also for scraps like peelings, egg shells and meat carcasses that aren’t eaten and routinely end up in the bin. When all of this food waste is put into an anaerobic digester (AD) facility, it can be transformed into energy.
There is already evidence that demand for AD plants in the UK is growing. One firm based in Dorset started work on a second AD plant in the area, near Christchurch, at the end of 2024 to help cope with increasing demand from local councils.
Speaking to the BBC in February this year, Bryony Hammond from Eco, the firm that runs the AD plant, explained that the new plant to the north of Christchurch will be able to take up to 50,000 tonnes of food waste per year.
This will both increase the amount that can be turned into biogas and reduce the distance that food waste from both Dorset and Hampshire has to travel to reach a suitable AD plant.
Bryony also pointed out that the gas produced at the new plant will be going to the homes of those in the local area, highlighting how valuable having local AD plants is.
What can be done to collect more food waste?
The new government rules for local authorities in England are only one part of the puzzle. Although it’s important that everyone has the opportunity to recycle their food waste, it is just as important to educate households about the importance of doing so.
Research conducted by WRAP last year found that just 42 per cent of households reported having a food waste service available and using it, with 14 per cent stating they have this service but do not use it.
This survey also found that awareness of the change to the law in England was low, with over three-quarters of those surveyed stating they had not heard about the change to introduce universal food waste collections in 2026.
What happens to food waste at an AD plant?
Food waste that arrives at an AD plant is left to decompose for a day or so before being processed and fed into the anaerobic digester, where micro-organisms break down the organic waste.
For this process to work, however, it is crucial that there is an absence of oxygen in the digester. As the micro-organisms do their work, methane and carbon dioxide accumulate. These create biogas, which can be used for heating and electricity generation.
It’s also why it’s so important that any AD facilities use appropriate pressure relief valves to ensure that biogas is produced safely and efficiently.
What’s more, the AD process also creates bio-fertiliser. This can be used in agriculture, as a natural fertiliser. All of which highlights the potential for more AD facilities and more comprehensive food waste collection in the UK to boost our renewable energy supplies and support our farmers.
How much energy does AD produce?
According to statistics gathered by WRAP, the UK’s AD industry has grown steadily with capacity increasing across both the food waste and farm sectors.
The organisation also notes that food collection and recycling via AD has a positive impact on energy generation, with just one food caddy full of waste producing enough electricity to power a lightbulb for a full 24 hours, or boil a kettle three times.
This highlights how important AD could be for helping to provide a secure and readily available source of renewable energy in the UK, especially now that food waste collection is mandatory in every local authority in England.
As of 2022, energy produced through AD facilities accounted for 8.4 per cent of the total energy contributed to the UK’s power supplies. Although this was a slight drop on the figure from 2021, AD was predicted to grow further and make up a greater share of the country’s energy mix.
While it remains to be seen how much more food waste will be collected and sent to AD facilities as a result of this change in legislation, it is clear that AD is an important source of renewable energy for the UK.
