Nestlé has achieved its target of zero waste to landfill at its Fawdon, Newcastle upon Tyne, plant thanks to the installation of an anaerobic digester a year ago.
The digester converts four tonnes of solid waste and 200,000 litres of liquid into renewable energy and clean water every day.
It does this by turning waste into a “chocolate soup” that is fed into an airtight tank. Bacteria decomposes the soup and turns it into by-products such as biogas.
The digester has also improved the quality of the water discharged from the factory, and greenhouse gas emissions from it have fallen by about 10% because of the heat and power generated from the biogas.
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