ALTERNATIVES FOR THE DISPOSAL OF POULTRY CARCASSES

Every broiler production facility is faced with the reality of carcass disposal. Nationwide, this represents a tremendous amount of organic matter that requires environmentally and biologically safe disposal or utilization. Disposal of poultry carcasses has been identified as one of the major problems facing the poultry industry. If poultry carcasses resulting from death by natural occurrences at such high levels of production are not disposed of by environmentally acceptable methods, future industry expansion will be limited or regulatory constraints will be imposed. Methods for the disposal of poultry carcasses include burial, incineration, composting, and rendering. Burial and incineration impose environmental concerns that are becoming less acceptable. Composting is environmentally sound, relatively inexpensive, and is gaining widespread acceptance. Rendering carcasses into a valued protein by-product meal is another alternative. Methods for transporting fresh or refrigerated carcasses to a rendering facility are being investigated. When coupled with rendering, fermentation is an excellent alternative for storing and transporting pathogen-free poultry carcasses. Extrusion of carcasses provides an alternative to conventional by-product rendering. All methods that allow for the environmentally safe and biosecure disposal of poultry carcasses should be considered. No single method will completely solve the problem.