Testing may not have finished at the waste plant, but it is already turning local food waste into energy.

The plant was due to be brought out of its commissioning - or testing - phase in November, but it is still not fully operational.

A spokesman for Tamar Energy, which runs the anaerobic digestion (AD) plant on the Bluebridge Industrial Estate, in Halstead, said: “Commissioning of AD plants (or anything else) is not a strictly linear process, which can typically take a year and Halstead is still well within this."