Bio energy firm pulls out of food waste contract

A council says it is "disappointed" that an energy firm has "pulled out" of a four-year contract to process food waste at a specialist facility.

Suffolk County Council announced in July that Bio Capital had agreed to process food waste at a planned anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Reydon, near Southwold.

It said the company walked away from the original agreement but an "interim solution" was now in place, and that food waste was being sent to sites in March, Cambridgeshire, and Halstead, Essex.

Bio Capital has been approached for comment.

The approved plant was due to be built at brewer Adnams' Distribution Centre, replacing its old facility.

According to the council, about 31,000 tonnes of household food waste was due to be sent there each year.

A spokesperson for the authority said: "The council is extremely disappointed that the original agreement collapsed when the provider decided to walk away.

"However, we responded quickly and currently have an interim solution in place."

It added that the new solution remained within budget, had not impacted residents and the majority of vehicles were making "shorter journeys".

From 31 March, the government had set rules for all councils across the country, to carry out weekly food waste collections.

The council added that compared to when food waste was processed in rubbish bags, the interim agreement would "save Suffolk taxpayers around £80 per tonne of food waste processed".

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.