BioteCH4 wins food waste recycling tender with Lincolnshire County Council

BioteCH4 has secured a new contract with Lincolnshire County Council to recycle food waste from all districts within Lincolnshire, England.
BioteCH4, the largest anaerobic digestion (AD) operator in England handled over 600,000 tonnes of food waste in 2023, producing power equivalent to the electricity used by over 30,000 homes for an entire year.

When food waste is disposed via energy from waste, the energy and nutrient benefits are not fully harnessed, according to the organisation.
By separately collecting food waste and recycling it through AD, these greenhouse gases are captured and converted into biogas and renewable energy, which is then injected into the national grid and the digestate by-product is recycled to land to help grow more food, it added.

Following confirmation that all Councils must provide a weekly food waste collection from March 2026, Lincolnshire County Council has moved quickly, securing an in-county solution with BioteCH4 that will see up to 50,000 tonnes of food waste captured annually from homes and businesses across the county.

Starting in Autumn next year, BioteCH4 will collect the food waste daily from a network of six transfer stations throughout the county for up to 9 years.

BioteCH4 said it will use its experience to collaborate closely with the councils as they implement these food waste collections for the first time.

Pamela Woolcock, group public sector lead for BioteCH4, commented: “Although the Simpler Recycling journey has been long, we are nearing the finish line. We are thrilled to now be partnered with Lincolnshire County Council with a year to work on perfecting the implementation plans before we kick-off in September 2025.

“We’re delighted Lincolnshire have taken the step of introducing their food waste collections so soon and we’d urge other local authorities currently looking at their procurement to speak to operators and get the ball rolling as soon as is feasible. We’d welcome any questions, and our sites are open for visits to meet our team of experts.”

Chris Yorston, acting head of waste at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Having secured our treatment solution, we can now focus – with our district council partners and BioteCH4 – on designing, procuring and implementing the other elements of our food waste collection service. We are looking forward to bringing all our knowledge and experience together to bring food waste recycling to households across the county.”