Biffa and Sainsbury’s have unveiled plans to power the supermarket giant’s Cannock-based store solely using food waste.

The waste management firm will link up its advanced anaerobic digestion facilities to the store, with electricity generated using food waste from Sainsbury’s stores across the UK.

Any food waste unsuitable for donations or animal feed is already sent to Biffa’s AD network, while remaining food waste collected from Sainsbury’s supermarkets around the UK are returned to Biffa’s Cannock facility.

Electricity for Sainsbury’s Cannock store is directly supplied to the supermarket via a 1.5km long electricity cable. The new power supply – built in partnership with Biffa - means the Cannock store will come off the National Grid for day to day electricity consumption.

Jeff Anderson, managing director of Biffa’s I&C division, said: “Biffa has provided Sainsbury’s with a food collection and processing service for many years. By converting food waste to renewable energy demonstrates our commitment to innovation and the environment.”