Tesco has opened the doors of its new animal feed production facility in Chelveston, Northamptonshire, in a move hailed as a “step change” in retailer attempts to create a circular economy within the UK food system.
Tesco first announced plans for the facility in 2024, following a major food waste scandal when it was revealed that thousands of tonnes of the grocer’s surplus food waste, previously declared as for animal feed, was secretly sent to anaerobic digestion plants.
Tesco sacked the firm at the centre of the scandal, however its group food waste reduction targets were completely derailed, having to be adjusted from a claimed fall of 45% from 2016/17 to 2022/23 to just 18% during the same period.
The new facility, which is owned and operated by Tesco’s existing food waste partner RenEco, would “revolutionise” how the supermarket handled its surplus food. The site handles bakery and produce that has already been offered to Tesco store colleagues.
Unique to other processing sites, it has been specially designed to handle food that arrives packaged and on supermarket cages, meaning products can come direct from stores without needing to be unpackaged elsewhere.
Surplus is collected from every Tesco store and transported via the supermarket’s distribution network. On arrival, cages are weighed, processed and mechanically de-packaged.
The hope is that eventually all feed produced will be supplied back to Tesco farmers and its food processors. The site can produce animal feed to meet specific farmer specifications.
“The Chelveston site marks a step change in our ambition to drive more circularity and sustainability in our food system,” said Christine Heffernan, Tesco chief communications and sustainability officer.
“Its ability to handle surplus from our suppliers and other retailers makes it potentially transformational in how waste is handled in the UK and will be instrumental in helping Tesco to reduce its food waste.”
Chelveston had been chosen in part due to its central UK location in order to “minimise” Tesco’s carbon impact. It’s also close to the supermarket’s rail hub in Daventry, Northamptonshire.
“By collaborating with Tesco we have been able to design, build and operate a facility that provides an innovative solution to create a circular supply chain,” said Tom Osborne, food by-products operations manager at RenEco.
“We are passionate about providing a product which is both nutritional and less carbon-intensive than traditional feeds. Our investment in this facility is another example of RenEco’s commitment to providing industry-leading solutions to our partners and customers.”
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