Nestle Zero Waste UK Plant
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Business
Nestle's largest UK factoryhas achieved zero-waste-to-landfill and cut emissions by 10%, one yearafter installing a giant anaerobic digester
The Fawdon factory, near Newcastle, is converting four tonnes of solid waste and 200,000 litres of liquid waste into renewable energy and clean water each day.
The anaerobic digester produces enough biogas to fuel a 200kw CHP engine which creates 4.8MWh of electricity a day - around 8% of the sites total consumption.
The system was installed as part of Nestle's pledge to send zero waste to landfill from its 150 European factories by 2020. The confectionary giant achieved zero-waste-to-landfill in its US factoriesback in April.
Process
The Fawdon factory - which produces Rolos and Toffee Crisps amongst others - turns sweet waste from the manufacturing process into a 'chocolate soup'.
This 'soup' is then fed into an airtight tank, the anaerobic digester, where bacteria decomposes the material and converts it into the useful by-products - clean water and biogas.
Nestlé Fawdon sustainability manager Andrew Griffiths said: "The system allows us to convert a large amount of waste that would otherwise enter sewage, or be sent to landfill where it would generate methane and other greenhouse gas emissions."
Source: Edie
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