Keenan Recycling is investing £835,000 in new depots across the South West of England.

The food waste recycling business is expanding its network across the UK with depots in Gloucester and Salisbury, potentially creating almost 20 new jobs in the next 12 months.

The opening of these depots in Gloucester and Salisbury is part of the company's wider investment into growth in England, which includes the recent £4.5m investment in adding 39 new trucks to its fleet. From day one, these depots will create seven new jobs with the expectation of almost trebling these numbers as demand increases.

Keenan Recycling claims to be the UK's largest food waste collection company with a mission to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

Instead of going to landfill, the waste collected is turned into premium grade compost or biofuel, which generates electricity at numerous anaerobic digestion plants (ADPs) across the country.

Already operating across the whole of Scotland, where legislation has accelerated the recycling of food waste, Keenan has been expanding south of the border with operations in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Yorkshire and now Gloucester and Salisbury.

Collections director, Claire Keenan, said: "Millions of tonnes of food waste in England goes straight to landfill. Every business has an obligation and, hopefully, an appetite to be more environmentally conscious. Indeed, Defra is aiming to eliminate food waste to landfill by 2030, and we are proud to play our part in achieving this target by offering a service that is cost-efficient. Producers of food waste now have no excuse for not making sure that their waste is collected and recycled into renewable energy.

"In Scotland this is driven by legislation but this will soon become the case in England and we're getting in front of the curve by investing in our depots and fleets to meet the increasing demand for collections nationwide."

The food recycling specialist currently partners with waste management companies and brokers, who work on a national scale, recycling food waste for customers including shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels.