Landfills are not usually associated with fresh food. But at a waste site near Royal Wootton Bassett, a market town in the English county of Wiltshire about 145 kilometres (90 miles) west of London, a family-run company called Crapper and Sons has done something that has never been done before.
They have built a growing dome on top of their landfill — and they are powering it entirely with the gas produced by the rubbish beneath.
The dome measures 40 metres by 20 metres and stands 9 metres tall — roughly three times the size of a standard tennis court. Inside, a system of hydroponics, raised growing beds, and UV horticulture lighting creates controlled conditions that allow crops to grow every month of the year, including produce that would not normally survive an English winter: lettuce, carrots, onions, and even avocados.
The technology works by capturing methane rising from the decomposing waste below, converting it into electricity and heat to power the dome, and then purifying the CO2 produced as a by-product and pumping it inside to accelerate photosynthesis. The result is a near-closed loop: waste goes in, and fresh food comes out.
Each dome is capable of producing 10 tonnes of fruit and vegetables per year. If the prototype proves successful, Sustain Wiltshire — the community-focused company behind the project — plans to build 100 additional domes on the same site, potentially supplying up to 80% of the fresh produce needs of three local towns.
Nick Ash, project director for Sustain Wiltshire, has said the model could create 130 new jobs on the site alone and prevent the release of 3,800 tonnes of CO2 annually. The team believes the concept could be replicated at landfill sites around the world — turning one of the planet's most persistent environmental problems into a local food source.