New Green Power campaign highlights AD potential of Christmas food waste

During this year's festive season, Severn Trent Green Power is anticipating more than 10,000 tonnes of leftover food to arrive at its 10 UK food waste plants across the Midlands, Home Counties, South Wales and South West – where it will be recycled into clean energy.
When recycled properly, traditional Christmas trappings such as turkey, roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts can be harnessed for homegrown renewable energy.
Green Power has created a series of Christmas food waste 'adverts' to highlight the amount of clean energy that unavoidable food waste can generate when responsibly recycled.
For example, approximately 4,000 tonnes of mince pies are discarded in the UK every Christmas. If recycled, they can create enough clean energy to play the nation’s favourite Christmas movie Home Alone seven million times, said Green Power.
Cheese, estimated to generate 2,000 tonnes of waste over the festive period, has the potential to keep a Christmas tree lit for 400,000 hours - when transformed into green energy.
Through anaerobic digestion, Green Power treats food waste collected from local authorities and food manufacturers. This process also produces a nutrient-rich natural fertiliser that can be spread to land to enrich soil and grow more food.
Mark Barnfield, commercial director at Severn Trent Green Power, said: “Christmas leftovers make a great source of ingredients to serve more delicious meals for your family after the party is over.
"However, once food is past being fit for consumption, it is vital that we capture its remaining energy potential. We’d encourage everyone to use their kitchen caddy to collect their unwanted food waste so we can recycle them into homegrown renewable energy through anaerobic digestion. Don’t forget to check with your local council to find out their collection arrangements over the holidays.”