Located at the London Sustainable Industries Park (SIP) in Dagenham Dock, the plant is part of a long-term investment programme by the company and is expected to open its gates in summer 2017 to waste from businesses and local authorities in the South East.
The facility will create more than 60 jobs in the local area and once operational it will be capable of generating more than 2,000 m3/hr of methane gas per year. The methane gas will be upgraded using gas to grid (G2G) technology to reflect the qualities of natural gas, enabling its direct injection into the national gas grid.
‘Landmark achievement’
Philip Simpson, commercial director at ReFood, described construction beginning as a ‘landmark achievement’.
He added: “In London and the surrounding areas, a significant volume of food waste is generated every year and ReFood Dagenham will play a crucial role in recycling this waste.
“Thus, helping businesses to lower their operational costs, become more sustainable and, most importantly, divert a highly valuable resource away from landfill.”
ReFood
ReFood is a part of the SARIA Group (formerly PDM Group), which owns several businesses in the food supply chain, including production as well as waste treatment, which is itself a part of the German-owned Rethmann Group.
The Dagenham plant will be ReFood’s third AD-plant in the UK alongside Doncaster and Widnes.
ReFood Dagenham will operate at the same capacity as the Doncaster plant, which completed a £6 million expansion last year – to which the company claimed was the largest plant of its kind in the country (see letsrecycle.com story).
The new plant will also include the transfer facility for Category 3 Animal By-Products (ABP) from across London and the South East, currently undertaken by its sister company, John Knight. The transfer facility is to commence operation in autumn.
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