London residents turn food scraps into sauna fuel as community sauna is tested

R-Urban Poplar, an ecology hub in east London, features community growing spaces, workshops and gardens on the Teviot Estate. (Image: R-Urban Poplar) A community project in east London is testing an unusual way of turning household food waste into energy. At R-Urban Poplar, an ecology hub on the Teviot Estate, food scraps collected from nearby residents are processed through a community-scale anaerobic digester to produce biogas. The gas can then be used to power a community sauna at the site. Project organisers describe it as the world’s first community-powered sauna of its kind, although the claim has not been independently established. The sauna remains in its testing phase, with full operation expected later in 2026. The experiment is part of a wider effort to create a local circular system linking food waste, energy production and urban food growing.London residents turn food scraps into sauna fuelThe system at R-Urban Poplar is designed to keep food waste within the local area rather than sending it elsewhere for treatment. Residents of the nearby Teviot Estate can participate in a pilot food-waste collection scheme, with the scraps taken to an anaerobic digester at the R-Urb...