A NEW £9 million plant to recycle the county’s food waste is expected to be open by March next year.

Gloucestershire County Council has just signed a new contract with Andigestion Ltd, which is building a new anaerobic digestion waste facility at Wingmoor Farm near Bishop’s Cleeve.

As well as producing bio fertiliser, which can be used on local farms, the facility, due to open in spring 2015, will turn recycled food waste into green energy.

The plant is designed to take up to 34,000 tonnes of mixed food waste and will be processing all the food waste collected in Gloucester, Cheltenham, the Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury.

Stroud District Council is currently the only authority within the county which doesn’t provide food waste recycling.

At a full council meeting next month, members are expected to ratify a report by SDC staff, which had been set-up to review the authority’s multi-services contract.

Councillors are adamant that the contract should include weekly food waste collections.

A food waste collection business will also be rolled out to all of Gloucestershire, enabling commercial and industrial enterprises across the county to recycle their waste food sustainably.

Anaerobic digestion uses the sort of bacteria that exist naturally in the sediment of lakes and ponds to break down organic waste.

It also creates energy in the form of gas and electricity and the Wingmoor Farm plant will produce enough power to supply 2,500 homes all year.

The new food waste treatment facility is part of the county council’s plan to manage Gloucestershire’s waste and includes the proposed incinerator at Javelin Park.

According to a spokesman from Andigestion Ltd, the plant will cost approximately £9million.

A spokesman from GCC has said the county council will pay for the facility per tonne but were unable to give any figures on the cost to taxpayers stating that it is ‘commercially sensitive’ information.

A separate new contract has also been awarded for mixed food and garden waste.

Cllr Ray Theodoulou, deputy leader of GCC, said: “By ensuring scraps and peelings are not sent to landfill we can help protect our environment and save taxpayers money.”

Chairman of SDC’s environment committee, Simon Pickering, said: “This has been a long time coming but it’s great news that green waste and food waste collected in the county will finally be put to good use.”