Here’s one for Islay and Cairndow – Cumbernauld to recycle left over Christmas sprouts for electricity

Cumbernauld is planning to recycle left-over Christmas sprouts and other food refuse and turn it into green compost and, eventually, electricity powering homes and businesses. Trials will start at the Scottish Water-run Deerdykes Organics plant in the new year.

The Cumbernauld plan is an echo of Islay’s existing initiative to turn whisky wastes into biogas but will start with making green compost. The great left-over sprout and other food refuse will be stored in huge tunnels where friendly bacteria breaks it down into a green compost, known as Pod.

This will go to domestic gardens, at Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens and at Dirleton Castle which hosts the world’s longest herbaceous border.

It will also be used to supply power to Scotland’s first new town in 50 years – Polkemmet in West Lothian.

Eventually – as with the Islay initiative, , the plan is burn the gases produced during the recycling process to produce electricity.