A £15.6 million anaerobic digestion plant opened near Christchurch by Eco Sustainable Solutions
A £15.6m anaerobic digestion plant which will be used to convert food waste and other organic material into renewable energy and fertiliser is to be opened near Christchurch.
Work has started on the project site, with the scheme the largest to be undertaken in the near 30-year history of recycling company Eco Sustainable Solutions, based at Parley.
It is the firm’s second anaerobic digester and will receive leftover food and peelings for conversion into green gas, which will be fed directory into the gas grid. This will result in an 85% reduction in CO2 emissions.
The AD facility will be capable of handling more than 50,000 tonnes of food waste annually, producing around 60GWhs (Gigawatt hours) of biomethane, equivalent to the energy needs of 5,300 medium-sized homes
A fleet of trucks which transport waste to and from the facility will be converted from diesel to green gas, using the gas produced by the plant.
Hurn-based Mildren Construction is the main building contractor for the new Parley AD plant, which is expected to be fully operational by January 2026 and create five new jobs.
The majority of funding for the new plant – £8.715m – is from Lombard, the UK’s largest asset finance provider and part of NatWest Group.
Henry Bragginton, relationship manager at Lombard, said: “The mission of the team at Eco Sustainable Solutions is to create a more sustainable environment for everyone and to encourage people to recycle as much as possible.
“We were very pleased to be able to support the business in putting this into action with its new anaerobic digestion plant.
“It’s exciting to work with a business putting sustainability at its core.”
Andy Moore, Eco’s financial director, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Lombard for their support, including guiding us through a complex process over many months.
“What was particularly impressive was that they were able to leverage the right people within the bank at the right time, making the transaction smooth and hassle-free for us.”
