Norsk Gjenvinning open substrate facility in Trondheim

Norsk Gjenvinning has acquired a facility in Trondheim, Norway, to focus on the production of substrate from food waste. Through extensive collaboration across NG Group, the position in various segments of the value chain has been strengthened.

Each year, Norsk Gjenvinning collects tens of thousands of tons of food waste from households and businesses. Now, the company has secured a new midstream position by investing in a new substrate facility in Trondheim.

- This is a position that makes us strong in the Mid/North region and an important step in Norsk Gjenvinning`s long-term strategy to improve food waste management in Norway, says Development Manager in Norsk Gjenvinning, Tormod Selen Lundberg.

Lundberg explains that substrate from food waste is a kind of food slurry, formed when food waste and water are processed to remove packaging and unwanted materials. Packaged food waste primarily comes from grocery stores, restaurants, or commercial customers.

- This product is highly attractive for biogas plants, where it is used as raw material to produce both biogas and biofertilizer. Previously, we transported the food waste directly to these facilities, Lundberg continues.

This purchase will provide greater flexibility and potential for increased profitability when Norsk Gjenvinning chooses to produce the substrate itself.

Best solution

The project has required close collaboration between various departments within the group. The Mid/North region, where the facility is located, has been involved throughout the process and will be responsible for operating the facility. Norsk Gjenvinning Downstream, the companies trading subsidiary, has also been part of the team and will handle the distribution of the substrate and participate in public tenders.

They have already secured the upstream bid in Nord-Gudbrandsdalen.

- We were delighted when Norsk Gjenvinning Downstream was selected as the supplier, with Norsk Gjenvinning Region Mid/Nord as the recipient of food waste. They won based on the best solution, quality, and execution, not on price, so it was particularly rewarding, says Lundberg.

- With increasingly stringent source sorting requirements and the need for innovative solutions, this facility represents a modern and efficient method for handling food waste. The next phase includes finding solutions for recycling the plastic packaging that the food waste comes in, which currently goes straight to incineration. This will help elevate this type of waste further up in the waste hierarchy, concludes Lundberg