| | An unfortunate reality of animal production is death loss. This factsheet will introduce you to alternative disposal methods and Alberta's minimum legal requirements for each system. In-depth information on mortality disposal can be found in Poultry Mortality Disposal in Alberta a publication available from Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.
The five methods that can be used by Alberta poultry producers for the disposal of on-farm mortalities are:
Rendering
Rendering is a heating process that extracts recyclable ingredients such as protein and fat from offal. It is simple, relatively low in cost and sustainable because a waste product is converted to a useful and valuable resource.
Advantages:
- Nutrients are recycled
- Low maintenance
Disadvantages:
- Pick-up fees may be charged if your farm is not located near the rendering plant
- You'll need a biosecurity plan to prevent disease spreading to your farm from the rendering truck
- Purchase of a freezer may be required to store carcasses
Composting
Composting is a natural process which reduces and transforms organic wastes into a useful end product - compost - which can be used as a fertilizer without danger of disease transfer. There are a few things you need to know before you can compost carcasses on your farm. The compost facility must be:
- Located at least 100 m from wells or other domestic water intakes, streams, creeks, ponds, springs and high water marks of lakes and at least 25 m from the edge of a coulee, major cut or embankment
- Located at least 100 m from any residences
- Designed in a manner to exclude scavengers
- Located at least 100 m from any livestock facilities, including pastures, situated on land owned or leased by another person
Advantages:
- Compost can be used as fertilizer, reducing fertilizer costs for crop operations
- Environmentally safe
Disadvantages:
- Initial cost of constructing compost facility
- Labour intensive since daily monitoring is required
- Land or a suitable market is required to utilize the finished product
Incineration
Biologically, this is the safest method. Carcasses are burned using an approved incinerator that meets air emission guidelines. The incinerator must meet the guidelines of the Substance Release Regulation, the Code of Practice for Small Incinerators, and must meet any municipal by-laws.
Advantages:
- Biologically the safest method - complete destruction of carcasses and potential disease agents
Disadvantages:
- Organic nutrients are not recycled, but destroyed
- Initial cost is high
- Ongoing costs for incinerator operation
- Improper operation of incinerator can create unpleasant odors and could result in a nuisance complaint.
Burial
A simple option which requires that a pit be dug and later filled with carcasses. The legal requirements for burial are:
- The weight of dead animals in the pit cannot exceed 2500 kg
- The pit must be located
- at least 100 m from wells or other domestic water intakes, streams, creeks, ponds, springs and high water marks of lakes and at least 25 m from the edge of a coulee, major cut or embankment
- at least 100 m from any residences
- at least 100 m from any livestock facilities, including pastures, situated on land owned or leased by another person
- at least 300 m from a primary highway, 100 m from a secondary highway and at least 50 m from any other road allowance
- The pit must be covered with
- either a minimum of 1m of loose soil or 0.6 m of compacted soil
- a wooden or metal lid that is designed to exclude scavengers if quicklime is applied to the dead animals in sufficient quantities to control flies and odor.
- The bottom of the pit must be 1 m above the seasonal high water table.
Advantages:
- Capital expense is limited to land
Disadvantages:
- Nutrients are not recycled as in rendering and composting
- Risk of disease spread if carcasses are improperly buried
- Difficult or impossible to bury during winter
- Possibility of environmental damage due to leaching
- Large land base required for large operations
Natural Disposal
Natural disposal is NOT an acceptable means of disposing of your dead birds. It will be difficult to dispose of birds this way since the location of disposal sites is subject to strict guidelines. The legal requirements are:
- Total weight of animals to be disposed at one site cannot exceed 1000 kg
- Disposal sites must be located 500 m from each other
- Sites must be located
- at least 500 m from wells or other domestic water intakes, streams, creeks, ponds, springs and high water marks of lakes and at least 25 m from the edge of a coulee, major cut or embankment
- at least 400 m from any residences
- at least 400 m from any livestock facilities, including pastures, situated on land owned or leased by another person
- at least 400 m from any provincial park, recreation area, natural area, ecological reserve, wilderness area or forest recreation area
- Disposal cannot create a nuisance.
Advantages:
- Advantages are outweighed by disadvantages, and this method is not recommended.
Disadvantages:
- Threat of disease transmission is high
- Does not promote a good image of the poultry industry
- Large land base required to meet siting requirements
- Possible surface run-off contamination, in addition to leaching that could damage groundwater resources.
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