A local transition group will investigate the feasibility of creating a facility to convert food waste into renewable energy, after it secured a grant to carry out the work.

Transition Lavenham, a registered Community Interest Company which was set up to benefit the village, wants to develop an anaerobic digester in the vicinity of the west Suffolk village. The idea is to avoid landfill by making good use of waste.

The grant award to pay for a feasibility study came from the £15million Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) programme, which helps rural communities in England to develop renewable energy projects that will deliver economic and social benefits to the community and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Anaerobic digestion is a natural process that breaks down almost all organic matter into biogas, which can fuel an electricity generator or be processed for injection into the gas grid. The digestate – left after the biogas is produced – can then be used as a nutrient rich fertiliser.

Carroll Reeve, chair of Transition Lavenham, said an anaerobic digester could turn organic waste such as stale sandwiches or vegetable peelings collected from households and commercial premises in the area into green energy.

He added: “This is a really exciting chance for us to access expert advice to investigate a way in which we can develop a renewable energy project, which provides real benefits to local people while allowing us to make a positive impact on tackling climate change.”

Transition Lavenham has appointed locally based Farm Renewables Ltd to carry out the feasibility study. Their lead consultant on the project, Nick McAllister, has worked with a wide range of rural businesses and local community organisations on solar and anaerobic digestion projects.

These include arranging the installation of small scale solar arrays on farm roofs across Suffolk to working with the 1.4MW anaerobic digestion facility at Symonds Farm near Bury St Edmunds. The plant is now fully operational.