The South Shropshire Biodigester was funded by the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Advantage West Midlands to demonstrate the diversion of source separated household kitchen waste from landfill. The plant was designed and built by Greenfinch Ltd, who also now has the contract to operate the plant. Greenfinch Ltd and South Shropshire District Council are partners on this project and have set up a not for profit company called “Biocycle South Shropshire” to oversee the plant.

The plant has been designed to process 5,000 tons per annum of household kitchen waste into biogas to produce renewable heat and electricity of 0.12MW, and a biofertiliser that is returned to local agricultural land.

The initial feedstock was garden and kitchen waste but the garden waste contained a lot of contamination ranging from plastic bags right through to building materials and even car engines. The plant was operated on this feedstock for the first nine months. Subsequent to this collections were put in place in some regions to collect segregated food waste and the plant commenced operating using this feedstock only. Operating costs were much higher with the inclusion of garden waste but with lower biogas production.

Over 90% of the electricity produced is exported to the grid, the remainder is used by the plant itself. Similarly, around a third of the renewable heat produced is used in the AD process and the rest can be exported.