Compost firm has a bright future in electricity.

(From Western Daily Press)

A Year ago the management team at a leading West biotechnology company was poring over design spreadsheets for a new factory to convert organic waste into nutrient-rich fertiliser.

Business Reporter Now Herefordshire firm Bioganix has just opened one of the country's largest composting plants - built with the flexibility to become one of a new wave of power stations which could start producing renewable electricity by next year.

Nick Helme, managing director of the Stock Exchange listed firm, believes the plant can be part of the solution to the UK's growing "waste mountain" and the problem of finding alternatives to fuels and other products made from oil.

Councils and other large-scale waste producers are being encouraged by the Government to avoid dumping rubbish in landfill sites because of environmental concerns and limited space.

The new factory at Sharpness on the River Severn can eat up to 50,000 tonnes of organic food waste a year in two giant concrete cylinders, 20m long and 4m in diameter.

It's handy for main customer Gloucestershire County Council, which faces GBP150-a-tonne fines for failing to meet quotas for reducing landfill volumes.