Severn Trent Water is working with Derby City Trading Standards to turn counterfeit alcohol into electricity.
Over 700 litres of counterfeit alcohol, which is contaminated with a concoction of industrial chemicals, will be turned into electricity for the national grid at Severn Trent’s works in Alfreton. Because the alcohol is contaminated it cannot legally be poured into the sewage system, so the water company has stepped in to help Trading Standards dispose of it.
Vicky Levine, customer operations manager for Derby, said: “We are going to put the alcohol in our digester plant. The digesters generate methane that is then turned into electricity that gets fed into the national grid.
“The alcohol will aid and improve this process. It’s a really good feeling to be able to help out trading standards in this way by recycling all this alcohol and put it to such good use on an environmental level.”
Doug Walkman, Trading Standards team leader at Derby City Council, added:
“Trading Standards and our enforcement partners are committed to tackling the problems of illicit alcohol in Derby. It’s reassuring to know that when we do seize alcohol we can dispose of it in partnership with Severn Trent Water.”
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