Bold pronouncement time: 2009 will be the year of community sector anaerobic digestion. I'm entirely conscious of the fact that I am setting myself up for a fall, but at least it'll be a spectacular one.

Interest in anaerobic digestion has been gathering momentum for a while now, subsequent to a recent Eunomia report underlining the value of AD as a means of dealing with food waste, and the Government's decision earlier this year to fund pilot schemes across the country. Of course, as is often the case with these things, digester technology is widespread on the continent (and as reported by the Community Composting Network this summer (Word document), low-tech digester technology is even more widely used in developing countries). It even exists in this country, but it's only now that the technology is being put to use in the context of dealing with food waste from households and businesses.

At the moment there's a real dearth of facilities in or local to London that can deal with food waste satisfactorily. It's a particularly frustrating limitation when framed by local authorities' desires to hit their targets and - yes, it's not unheard of - provide the best possible services to their residents. In an ideal world, everyone would have access to a food waste collection service - whether they lived in a street-level property or in a flat on the top floor of the highest tower block. In our vision of this city, everyone will have access to such a service. But right now, if it were to happen tomorrow, it would be no good because the food waste would have nowhere to go.

But this is all set to change, and very soon. Residents of south London will soon see a large scale digester emerge in Beddington but we're interested in something else. An increasing number of LCRN members are showing real interest in AD; we've started identifying sources of funding; and we've even engaged in conversations with a supplier of technology who suggests that it can be scaled down and built in the urban environment. Meanwhile, nationally, the CCN has set up an AD steering group to, well, steer the development of digester technology that will be suitable for all sizes of community composting activity. There's even a member of CCN that is at very advanced stages of setting an AD site up... in a location that won't be specified just in case it's still a secret.

All of this convinces me - and my colleague, Karl Scholfield - that we can really get going in 2009, to explore the possibilities of making urban AD a reality, and to keep the community sector at the forefront of delivering the best solutions at the most appropriate scale for residents and communities. If this is something that you want to be involved with, get in touch.

P.S.: I'm appreciative of the AD backlash that has emerged in recent months, relating to a call for pragmatism when considering that there is value in biodegradable waste that goes beyond drawing energy from it (AD detractors argue that the nutrients that were taken to the soil must be returned). It seems like a sensible argument. However, like most arguments that are raised through the media, I hope that there is also sufficient pragmatism to realise that there is room for both AD and 'traditional' (or not) composting of biodegradable waste in the same way that, say, the solution to the pending energy crisis might have to involve more than just solar, wind or tidal power... (ocean currents, anyone?)