Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion of fish, chocolate and other food waste is currently being used as an ecofriendly agent in the production of carpets by global carpet manufacturer Interface Flooring’s plant in the Netherlands, which it hopes to employ in all its plants globally.

With Kevin Bates Albert Carpet (KBAC) being the South African distributor of Interface Flooring carpets produced with the use of this biogas, KBAC CFO Neil Duncan notes that this renewable energy forms part of Interface’s quest towards ‘Mission Zero’.

Mission Zero is a campaign facilitated by Interface that aims to achieve a zero environmental footprint and become the world’s first sustainable, restorative carpet manufacturer by 2020.

“In Europe, Interface has for several years been using renewable production energy derived from various renewable-energy sources, such as solar and wind power,” says Duncan.

He adds that the decision to now add biogas to the green power at Interface’s main European production plant at Scherpenzeel, in the Netherlands, brings the company closer to its Mission Zero 2020 target.

Through the use of biogas, the Scherpenzeel plant is now almost carbon dioxide neutral, Duncan points out, further mentioning that once the biogas has been compressed, dehydrated, filtered and odourised, it is transmitted through a gas grid to the Interface plant.

By securing biogas for its production plant, Interface has made it possible for the factory to achieve both 100% renewable electricity and 100% renewable biogas, making it the first Interface facility to have this distinction.

Moreover, the move resulted in a 98% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions for the company’s European facilities, compared with 1996.

The anaerobic digestion, which produces the biogas used at Interface’s Netherlands plant, consists of biological processes in which micro-organisms break down biodegradable material in an oxygen-free environment.

Impressed by the outcomes of the biogas use in its production, Interface aims to introduce biogas as a source of energy at other Interface plants overseas.

“All biodegradable production residues can theoretically be converted into biogas and there are now an increasing number of initiatives in this regard worldwide, with major factories investing in initiatives to salvage fish, chocolate, confectionery and other green waste – even from whisky distilleries – from the sewer to generate energy,” mentions Duncan.

He comments that it is most satisfying to see organic waste, which, for so many years was regarded as completely useless, being used to drive production plants. “This indicates that green gas has a bright future across industries.”