Deerdykes plant is energy flagship

New figures show that 8,000 tonnes of food refuse are collected from households every year, boosting growth of the sector.

But Scottish Water says the figure could rise exponentially if all 32 local authorities tap into its waste food to energy recycling scheme – for which the Cumbernauld anaerobic digestion (AD) plant is the flagshp facility.

Scottish Water says a process in which rotting food and farm waste produces electricity is booming in Scotland, and Cumbernauld’s is the single most important processing plant.

Finance director Alan Scott said the Deerdykes facility is presently the largest single contributor to Scottish Water’s energy self-generation.

He said: “As a significant user of electricity, Scottish Water is working to reduce energy consumption as well as to increase the amount of energy that we generate ourselves.

“This can help us keep costs low for the benefit of our customers.”

He added: “Since the launch of our AD facility at Deerdykes in 2010 we have recycled approximately 80,000 tonnes of food waste, transforming it into renewable energy and natural fertiliser.

“To support the new Waste (Scotland) Regulations we have also invested in a food waste collection service to collect and recycle food waste from a wide variety of businesses including hotels, restaurants, leisure and entertainment facilities, providing a convenient and flexible solution to customer needs.”