it's pre-treated and any remaining packaging is removed, it's then fed into

the digestion tank

here the waste separates into the two main products: firstly

there's methane and rather than being released into our atmosphere this gas is

captured and used to power

electricity generators. Over ninety percent of the electricity produced in

this way is exported to the national grid

the remainder being used by the plant itself, alternatively

the methane can be cleaned up and used as a vehicle fuel or fed into the

national gas supply

for use by homes and businesses. There is also a very useful byproduct,

heat, about a third of this is used to heat the AD plant itself

with the remainder often being used to warm local factories and other buildings

making the whole process almost self sufficient in power and heat

There's also an useful secondary product which comes from anaerobic digestion

this is a digest that sinks to the bottom of the tank, which is rich in

nutrients and nitrogen

which can be used as a soil improver and, with the cost of fertiliser going up all

the time, this is a great way of returning nutrients to the land

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