If we took a short trip forward in time to 2040, and then looked back at how some organisations in the water industry successfully achieved Carbon Net Zero, it’s likely you’ll see a large four-letter word: NIGG.

An innovative new project is using residues from Scotland’s whisky industry in biogas production at Aberdeen’s Nigg Waste Water Treatment Works (WwTW) for the first time.

Defra has told the sludge working group set up by Ofwat to explore a number of issues around the nascent bioresources market that there is currently a lack of evidence around a regulatory impact assessment and £m benefits to make the case for legislative change around the co-treatment of sludge with other waste.

The latest meeting of Ofwat’s sludge working group has raised a number of complex issues about opening up the market to competition, including concerns expressed by the Environment Agency about the potential for a “race to the cheapest cost option” by companies to the detriment of the environment.