The facility has the capacity to process 96,000t of food waste each year and produce up to 3.2 megawatts (Mw) of green electricity and 4.8Mw of renewable heat, enough to power 6,000 homes.
Westcott Park will be Olleco’s third AD facility in addition to its sites at Aylesbury and Liverpool. All employees based at Westcott Park will transfer over to Olleco.
Olleco collects waste food and cooking oil from the retail and foodservice sector and converts this waste into biodiesel, biogas and biofertiliser. It employs more than 600 people in 15 locations across the UK.
Added capacity
Robert Behan, managing director of Olleco, said: “Olleco is delighted to make this acquisition, which will provide added capacity and improve the service we provide to our 50,000 customers across the UK. The move will also complement our existing operations nearby Aylesbury and in Liverpool.
“Today’s announcement is also a significant development from an ABP Food Group perspective, as it further demonstrates the company’s renewable energy strategy and is another practical example of the circular carbon economy in action.”
Renewi said the decision to sell the loss-making facility was part of its strategy to improve margins and returns. It expects the site to benefit from Olleco’s scale of operations, as well as it being part of a network of plants servicing the foodservice sector in a fully closed-loop operation.
‘Decisive action’
James Priestley, managing director of Renewi's municipal division said: “The sale of our Westcott Park facility is completely in line with our strategy to actively manage our municipal portfolio. We are taking decisive action to improve the performance of the division and this demonstrates we are delivering against that recovery plan.
“The facility and the team based there will now be part of an operation exclusively focused on the food waste market, which will be beneficial for customers and suppliers as well as the people based at the facility. We will now work with Olleco to ensure a seamless transition.”