Digestate fertiliser is made from recycled food waste and provides far reaching benefits for farmers and the environment.

It’s a by-product of Anaerobic Digestion which converts food waste into clean energy for the national grid. The slurry that remains at the end of the process is called digestate. This can be pasteurised to create organic fertiliser, helping to grow considerably more food than was used to create the fertiliser in the first place.

Digestate fertiliser made from recycled food waste has a number of advantages compared to manufactured mineral fertilisers:

Organic

The digestate slurry left at the end of the Anaerobic Digestion recycling process is only comprised of organic material.

Nutrient rich

Digestate fertiliser made from recycled food waste contains all the nutrients and micronutrients necessary for modern agriculture, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. This provides a more complete blend of nutrients for crops, compared to mineral fertilisers which contain high concentrations of a few nutrients.

Good for the soil

The organic material in digestate helps to build up the humus content of the soil. Furthermore, the more rounded blend of nutrients that is good for crops, is also good for the soil they grow in.

Sustainable

Digestate fertiliser recycled from food waste is a more sustainable product than mineral fertiliser. According to the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association: 1 ton of artificial fertiliser replaced with digestate saves 1 ton of oil, 108 tons of water and 7 tons of CO2 emissions.

Better use of resources

Phosphate resources are in decline. Anaerobic Digestion recovers this vital nutrient from food waste and recycles it as organic digestate fertiliser.

Easy to use

Digestate is 90% water, so it is easy to spread and the nutrients it contains quickly become available to crops. 

Good for the environment

Digestate has a smaller carbon footprint that mineral fertiliser, generates less greenhouse gas emissions and is less prone to nitrogen leaching.

Recycling food waste into organic fertiliser makes sense from every angle. To find out more about how Swancote Energy can recycle your food waste, or if you are interested in our digestate fertiliser, please get in touch on 01746 716400 or via enquiries@swancoteenergy.com

If you would like to see the certificate of analysis for our digestate you can download it here.