IT might seem hard to believe, but waste from top class hotels and tourist attractions is helping to keep Britain’s lights burning.

A Yorkshire-based firm is also doing its bit to ensure that there are more “green” vehicles on our roads.

Sponsors

Sponsors

Sponsors

One of Britain’s largest food waste recycling companies hopes to create jobs in Yorkshire as it grows in response to market demand.

Doncaster-based PDM, the UK’s largest food waste recycler, plans to spend more than £90m on its UK operations before the end of 2014.

The company already employs around 260 staff at its Doncaster site. The Doncaster operation accounts for £60m out of the PDM Group’s £230m annual turnover.

Philip Simpson, the commercial director at PDM said: “The Doncaster expansion will involve more staff. This is a long-term investment.”

Apart from the £44m being invested in new anaerobic digestion facilities in Widnes and Dagenham for its ReFood food waste business, the company is also spending £29m to upgrade its animal by-product rendering operations in Nuneaton and Widnes.

A further £18m is being invested on its petfood processing facilities in Widnes, Doncaster and Nottingham.

PDM opened its first ReFood plant in Doncaster in September 2011. Mr Simpson said that, altogether, around 30 jobs were expected to be created on the Doncaster site.

The £20m plant at Widnes, which is due for completion at the end of the year, will have 50 per cent more capacity, with three combined heat and power (CHP) engines to convert the biogas produced during the AD process into renewable electricity.

Capable of handling 90,000 tonnes of commercial and domestic food waste, the Widnes operation will generate enough energy for around 8,000 homes, as well as heat, which will be used by its rendering operation on site and by neighbouring businesses. The organic fertiliser produced will be used by farmers in the local area to grow crops.

Apart from renewable energy and digestate for agriculture, the Dagenham AD plant, which is due to be built later this year, will produce bio-methane which will be exported or used on commercial vehicles and buses.

The use of bio-methane in road vehicles will help to meet the increasing demand for greener transport fuels by major supermarkets and Transport for London.

Andy Smith, chief executive officer at PDM, said yesterday: “This is a significant investment in new and existing facilities in the UK that will ensure we remain at the forefront of food waste and animal by-product processing.

“As part of Saria Bio-Industries, PDM is committed to using the most advanced technological solutions to ensure we optimise the resource value and quality of food by-products and waste, through state-of-the-art processing techniques and world class quality standards.

“This investment will ‘future-proof’ our business and give customers the reassurance that they are dealing with the best in the industry, while allowing us to expand significantly our operations in the UK.”

Full article: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/business-news/food-you-don-t-eat-is-fuelling-expansion-for-pdm-1-5865775