Sainsbury's Zero Food-waste-to-landfill Policy

Type of practice Recover

Name of practice Sainsbury's Zero Food-waste-to-landfill Policy

Name of main actor Sainsbury's, UK

Type of actor(s) Company

Location United Kingdom

Stage of implementation Retail

Year of implementation 2011

What was/is being done? By the end of 2011, Sainsbury's became the first supermarket in the UK to send all its food waste for anaerobic digestion (AD) – the process that decomposes food waste to release biogas which can then be used to produce electricity. Under the EU landfill directive, Britain is obliged to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill to 50% of 1995 levels by 2013. Sainsbury's has invested in Tamar Energy Ltd., a new company focused on producing energy from organic waste matter.

Outcomes and impacts All surplus food waste from stores is going to charities or AD plans to generate green energy.