Food waste from homes in Warwick will now be turned into biogas and electricity after the county council signed a new contract with Severn Trent Green Power.

Warwickshire County Council announced the 12-to-18 month deal today (September 1) for household waste collections in Stratford and Warwick districts.

The local authority said food waste will now be treated at Severn Trent Green Power's Coleshill anaerobic digestion (AD) facility.

Anaerobic digestion is a process where bacteria break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas.

The biogas produced is either converted to electricity and exported to the national electricity grid or further treated and exported to the national gas grid, supplying homes and businesses with renewable energy.

The process also creates a nutrient-rich liquid bio-fertiliser which is used by UK farmers to help grow the fruit and vegetables.

A graphic explaining the production and uses of biogas (Image via Warwickshire County Council)

Severn Trent said the Coleshill facility can treat up to 50,000 tonnes of household and commercial food waste each year, which is enough to generate 2.4 Megawatts of electricity.

This contract is expected to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 1,024 homes for a year.

The council said this is also the equivalent of 8,997 tonnes of carbon not emitted to the atmosphere compared to the same amount of food waste going into landfill.

Cllr Heather Timms, portfolio holder for environment, climate & culture said: "This new partnership with Severn Trent Green Energy is a further demonstration of this council's commitment to doing everything it can to reduce its carbon impact on the rapidly changing climate.

"Not only does this provide a solution to increase the proportion of food waste collected for recycling from households in Stratford and Warwick, it also produces a large amount of totally renewable energy and nutrient-rich fertiliser for our farmers."

A new three-weekly bin collection scheme started in Stratford and Warwick districts on August 1.

Mark Barnfield, public sector lead at Seven Trent Green Power, said: "As one of the leading food waste recycling businesses in the UK we are delighted to have been awarded this contract with Warwickshire County Council to provide the residents of Warwickshire a sustainable recycling solution for their food waste."

Find out more about household waste recycling in Warwickshire, here: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/waste-recycling