Dive Brief:

• Pennsylvania-based Hermitage Water Pollution Control Plant is ready to convert 290 tons of recalled Jeni's ice cream into biogas.
• The plant has had the ability to convert food waste in its anaerobic digesters for the last year. The process involves two stages that yields energy and a soil product from food and wastewater sludge. 
• The Hermitage contacted Jeni's, based in Ohio about taking the recalled ice cream. Blue Bell, located in Texas presented too big of a geographic distance.

Dive Insight:

Hermitage reached out to the ice cream company and came up with a solution for two problems. Jeni's needed to dispose of product and Hermitage had a need for more food waste. Plant officials hope to be able to produce about 45 days of electrical energy when the entire process is complete. The company is also pushing towards being able to turn biogas into natural gas. The ice cream packaging will be handled by a third party recycler. 

Jeni's, which is planning to reopen, was cited by the FDA for failing simple sanitation procedures at its kitchen, reports the Columbus Dispatch.