Biofuel included in government waste consultation

A consultation launched by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) covers issues relating to the use of domestic and business waste - including the potential application of anaerobic digestion to produce gas for use in biofuel generation.

The consultation is open to comment from all interested parties, whether at the domestic level, from businesses or representatives of local authorities.

Environment secretary Caroline Spelman invites anyone with a view to express to do so, adding that the process is "an exciting opportunity" to look again at recycling and waste handling in the UK.

Other topics to be addressed include refuse collection and kerbside recycling schemes, as well as reducing the amount of packaging used in products.

However, the inclusion of anaerobic digestion as a means of biofuel production could be of most interest to utilities suppliers.

Defra published in March a document entitled Accelerating the Uptake of Anaerobic Digestion in England: an Implementation Plan which outlined its aims for the use of the technology in the years to come.