Two Budgens stores in North London are taking part in a pioneering recycling scheme which produces electricity and organic fertilizer from recycled food waste.

Independent retailer Andrew Thornton has seen the amount of waste food he sends to landfill plummet since signing up to the scheme, run by Cawleys' Food Recycling.

The system allows waste producers to dispose of all food waste, including animal-by products, in an environmentally sustainable way using anaerobic digestion (AD).

Waste is collected from stores and delivered to a nearby AD plant where it is mixed with pig manure and pasteurized, before being placed into a fermenter. Bacteria then break down the food waste and the methane gas produced is converted into electricity for the National Grid. The remaining by-product can be used as an organic fertilizer.  

Andrew said: "Before we discovered Cawleys we were sending 40% of our waste to landfill. Now we send just 6%."

The scheme had also been well received by customers and store staff. "All staff have to do is put things into the correct bin, and customers think the service is amazing," said Andrew.

For more information, contact the food waste management team on 0845 260 2000, or go to www.cawleys.co.uk.