Monday 21 July 2014
A Sainsbury’s supermarket is now running purely on power generated by its own food waste. Today the store is coming off the national grid.
Any food waste unsuitable for charitable donations or animal feed from the store goes to a nearby site run by waste firm Biffa, where biomethane gas is produced from organic matter.
Once converted to electricity, this will be sent to the Cannock store through a newly built new 1.5km long electricity cable.
Paul Crewe, Head of Sustainability at Sainsbury’s said: “Sainsbury’s sends absolutely no waste to landfill and we’re always looking for new ways to reuse and recycle. So we’re delighted to be the first business ever to make use of this linkup technology, allowing our Cannock store to be powered entirely by our food waste.”
Jeff Anderson, Managing Director of Biffa’s I&C division said: “Biffa has provided Sainsbury’s with a food collection and processing service for many years. By converting food waste to renewable energy demonstrates our commitment to innovation and the environment. Biffa has a national network of dedicated food collection vehicles providing services for large and smaller customers.”