Eco & Environment, Ferndown | Posted on October 16th, 2026 | return to news

Food waste bio-gas site opens at Parley

One of the largest facilities in the south for extracting energy from food waste has officially opened in Dorset.

Eco Sustainable Solution’s biogas plant at the Parley site is officially open after construction started in 2024. It can handle over 50,000 tonnes of food waste from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and surrounding areas every year.

Costing just under £20 million, the facility creates biomethane which is fed directly into the local gas network at the rate of 900 cubic metres an hour, enough to heat around 7,000 homes.

The plant, which sits in a 40-acre Eco Park has six full-time operators. It was commissioned earlier this year. Eco Sustainable Solutions began life 31 years ago as a small green waste composting operation with two people and a pitchfork and has grown to a business employing 53 with an annual turnover of over £20 million.

Simon Boyd, Vice-President of Dorset Chamber, officially opened the new anaerobic digestion facility, saying: “This couldn’t come at a better time because we need a mix of energy. This energy resource works 24 hours a day, whether the wind blows or not or the sun shines or not. It’s a good addition to that mix that we need to get as a country so that we can bring down the energy costs that are affecting all businesses.”

Justin Dampney, Eco’s Managing Director, said: “The official opening of our new biogas facility marks a significant milestone in Eco’s 30-year history and is a proud achievement for everyone involved.

“This facility, which has been developed as a response to the Government’s Simpler Recycling reforms, operates around the clock and has the capacity to recycle more than 1,000 tonnes of food waste every week. This material is transformed into renewable biomethane injected into the gas network, along with a nutrient-rich biofertiliser, for agriculture; both are particularly useful given the current climate.”

The council launched a fresh food waste collection scheme in April and more recently encouraged people to restart using their food waste bins if they had stopped. Or, to get a new one if a previous bin was lost or damaged.