• Bookstore

Biogen, part of the Eco-technology division of the Bedfordia Group of companies, produces renewable energy and fertiliser from a combination of food waste diverted from landfill and pig slurry. The enthusiastic response of the Princess showed this was clearly a subject close to her heart.

"One of my pet whinges" Her Royal Highness announced in an impromptu address to the gathered guests, "is what doesn't happen to food waste and all other waste but Biogen seems to me to be proving not just the art of the possible but what is really necessary, and it's done so efficiently and well."

John Ibbett, Chairman of Biogen, said:
"With her long held interest in farming , Princess Anne was genuinely enthused to learn how we use slurry from our own pigs and combine it with local domestic and commercial food waste to create enough green electricity to power 1,000 homes, as well as a nutrient rich bio-fertiliser for use on our arable land.

"We are extremely proud of our achievements in Biogen so far and the widespread interest and support we have received from industry bodies, politicians and the community alike, supports our belief that Biogen is leading the way in providing a national solution for waste producers, farmers and the environment alike."

The Biogen Twinwoods plant, the first of its kind in the UK, has been operational since 2005 and the official opening ceremony marks the start of the company's plans to roll out a network of one hundred similar plants across the country over the next seven to ten years.

Its Twinwoods plant is capable of accepting up to 30,000 tonnes of food chain waste per year from the 20-30 million tonnes of food waste produced by the UK. Combined with 12,000 tonnes of slurry, it can produce over 1MW of electricity (enough to power 1,000 homes) and over 1.5MW of heat.

Biogen's AD plant is the first of its type in the country where it is fully integrated into a large scale farming operation.

Pig slurry from the sister company, Bedfordia Farms, is piped directly into large tanks known as anaerobic digestors. Domestic and commercial food waste food is added and the mixture breaks down producing a methane-rich gas which is then burnt to produce electricity for the National Grid. The remaining digestate is used as a highly effective fertiliser and is spread directly onto Bedfordia Farms' arable fields, thus avoiding the need to purchase fossil fuel based fertilisers. There is no waste in this extraordinary process.

The Princess gave her full support to Biogen and concluded her visit by wishing John Ibbett and his team good luck with their expansion plans saying, "I hope that it (Biogen) will evolve and develop around the country because it does have such enormous potential for all of us."