Digesting savings

The UK AD & Biogas show was held in Birmingham last week. The exhibition provided the trade visitor with an assembly of exhibitors from around the globe willing to talk about waste products. Society’s detritus, from cups and packages to on-farm excess, can now be turned into energy and useful products. It is a good thing, but it does cost to process it all, and there are companies that were at the show which were able to do that as well. If one needed things cleaned and sorted, there was a company. If it needed to be burned and turned into biogas, or anaerobically digested, there was also a firm that would be able to assist.

It’s also about getting the most out of one’s processing plant or farm setup. The low-hanging fruit of changing bulbs is gone, and the serious business of setting up solar panels and getting the most out of every input into an operation is underway here in the UK. Whether or not the government actively supports this process or not, it has to occur in order for the agricultural and food industries to continue to operate profitably.

And, governmental regulations are increasing across the board on waste – charges continue to escalate for removals and anything brought to landfill or which has to be sorted by a local council, will cost the operation. The question is one of cost, but there again, the processor has to be canny about whether it can afford it, or whether money can be found from grants/loans that will cover costs until the return on investment has been seen. It is not just about farming or cheese making or dairy processing anymore. It is completely about the inputs, the outputs, and the costs and savings to be made in between.