First Minister Carwyn Jones has officially opened a new £6m food waste recycling plant in Llwyn Isaf, near Caernarfon.

Prosiect GwyriAD is Wales' first purpose built anaerobic digestion facility treating food waste collected by local authorities and generating renewable electricity.

The Welsh Government has provided almost £2.4m to support the project. Built by Biogen, a leading anaerobic digestion specialist on Gwynedd Council land, the plant will process food waste collected from local homes and businesses by the council, diverting it from landfill to produce renewable energy and valuable biofertiliser for local farmland.

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The First Minister said: "Prosiect GwyriAD demonstrates what can be achieved by the Welsh Government working closely with the local council and the project team. Wales is the only country in the UK with a national programme to address household food waste, and we have provided leadership to local government and the market with our ambitions, as well as significant funding.

"Thanks to Prosiect GwyriAD, 11,000 tonnes of waste a year will avoid landfill, where it would generate greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, the plant has created jobs locally and generates 3,500 megawatt hours of renewable electricity for the national grid – enough to power every home in nearby Penygroes continually for a year."

(CD/MH)