TWO thousand North Yorkshire homes are set to run on old rubbish as the energy produced by a landfill site is recycled.

The Walled Garden Partnership was set up by Tony and Gill Eyers 18 months ago to look at investing in machinery and technology to make the most of energy produced by a landfill site. The project was backed by a £1.5 million finance deal from Santander Corporate Banking.

Mr and Mrs Eyers installed an engine to convert methane gas to electricity at the site in Alne, near York.

This is connected through an 11.5km 7mw cable to Husthwaite Sub Station and is set to produce enough electricity to power 2,000 homes for the next 20 years. The operation not only provides an alternative power source, but helps cut emissions from methane gas which would otherwise need to be burned off at the site.

Mr Eyers said: “As former owners of the landfill site, we knew we needed to look at ways of diversifying our business following changes to Government legislation. We always knew there was more that we could do and we were excited about the prospect of harnessing some of the waste energy produced by the site.

“This new venture has been a real opportunity to use innovative technology to help both the environment and the local community.”