The Department of Energy and Climate Change sees Anaerobic Digestion (AD) as a good way to dispose of food waste. The National Farmers Union thinks that we should build 1000 plants on farms and in Germany there are nearly 5000 AD plants, yet the UK has only built a few dozen so far.  David Oliver provides a brief history of AD, explains how it works and looks at the potential for this technology in the UK. Is it’s future in waste treatment or is it the solution to our energy needs?