The Greenery UK is building new tomato glasshouses in a major deal with two Suffolk growers and a waste-management company.
Greenery UK Ltd has entered a partnership with Sita UK to build the glasshouses at Little Blakenham in Suffolk. Under the agreement with growers Michael Blakenham and Stephen Wright, the partners will build two new structures totalling 17ha. The glasshouses will use waste heat and CO2 from Sita UK’s nearby Energy from Waste facility to produce tomatoes and other salads.
The project will operate under the name Sterling Suffolk. Construction on the combined heat and power plant began in May last year and is expected to burn up to 269,000 tonnes of residual waste annually and generate enough electricity for 30,000 homes. The project remains on track for the opening of the facility in December 2014, which could see the first British tomatoes from Sterling Suffolk on retailers’ shelves by summer 2015. All produce will be sold locally and to selected supermarket chains.
Kevin Doran, Greenery UK MD, said: “This project fits with this strategy of The Greenery. We began discussions with Sita and a local group in August 2012, and quickly established this is a serious group with shared vision for the development of domestic UK supply. In addition, the green credentials of the project are outstanding and fit well with our existing production at Cornerways and North Bank Growers.”
The project also has benefits for Sita UK. Cliff Matthews, regional manager, said: “The plan is to supply heat from our energy-from-waste plant to heat the greenhouses and potentially use purified CO2 for the growth of the tomato plants. The pipeline will also
form the basis for a district energy network reaching towards Ipswich.
“The major environmental benefits created by this project fit in well with our aims to foster the circular economy and move us towards a society where there is no more waste.”
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