THOUSANDS of tonnes of food waste collected from homes and schools in Waveney is to be turned into 'green' gas for the National Grid under a new partnership between two businesses, it was announced this week.

From early next year, food waste from 5,500 homes the Lowestoft and Halesworth areas, and all the schools in East Suffolk, will be used as fuel to produce renewable energy at Adnams' new bio-energy plant at Reydon.

The deal was struck between Bio Group, a Cambridge-based company specialising in renewable energy, and private-public partnership group Waveney Norse, which will act as its collection and transport partner in the Waveney and Suffolk Coastal area.

Bio Group's chief executive Steve Sharratt said: 'This is not only an important day for Bio Group and Waveney Norse; it is a ground-breaking day for those households in Waveney and schools across both Waveney and Suffolk Coastal.

'Families and children will know that any food waste from their homes or school – be that vegetable peelings or left-over packed lunches – will be collected by Waveney Norse and brought to our Adnams' Bio Energy plant in Southwold.

'We will then turn it into renewable energy that in turn can be used to heat homes and classrooms.'

Stephen Ardley, Waveney District Council's portfolio holder for healthy communities, said, 'We're delighted that, as part of the agreement, all our current trade customers can have a food waste collection from their premises. This is an important extra green service as it means they can help play a role in cutting down waste sent to landfill and finding a green use for their food waste.'

The Adnams Bio Energy site in Reydon – which operates as a subsidiary of Bio Group – was completed this summer and is the first in the UK to be built to inject green gas into the National Grid. It delivered its first gas to the National Grid in October.