Animal By-products Incinerators

1). What is classified as an animal by-product?

In this case, ABP refers to everything from live animals rejected from abattoirs because they’re infected, and carcasses of animals used in experiments. It also includes unhatched poultry, which has died in its shell, and meat that was originally intended for human consumption but has been withdrawn.

2). Incinerating animal by-product

If you’re already using an incinerator to dispose of animal carcasses, inevitably, at some point you will be left with unmanaged ABP that hasn’t been completely burned but must still be disposed of. As such, you must reburn it.

It is vital that your live animals do not come into contact with raw, remaining ABP awaiting incineration, this can pose massive biosecurity risks and can harm not only a local farm but whole regions.

In most cases, you can only send ABP to landfill if it is completely incinerated, and only ash remains. However, in England and Wales, ash from category 2 or category 3 pig and poultry ABPs can be used on farmland for fertilisation.

3). How can you get your incinerator approved?

When getting your incinerator approved, incinerating animal carcasses on their own requires Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) approval. But if you’re working with ABPs, consider the following guidance:

• If you burn over one tonne per hour and your site is in England or Wales, you must be approved by the Environment Agency.
• If you burn less than one tonne per hour and your site is in England or Wales, you must be approved by your local authority.
• If your site is in Scotland, you must be approved by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

You must also apply to the APHA for high capacity or low capacity incinerator approval, depending on whether you burn more or less than 50kg of waste per hour.

If you incinerate a mixture of ABPs and non-ABPs, you will also need Environment Agency approval under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and registration by APHA. You can complete the registration form here.

“Animal carcasses or parts of animal carcasses suspected or confirmed as infected by a TSE are category 1 ABPs. They must be disposed of by incineration, or processing (rendering) followed by incineration.”

Published 4 September 2014 by DEFRA & APHA

4). Where can I get more information?

Most countries have their own dedicated agricultural or farming agency or government department. For the United Kingdom you can find these below:

• England & Wales - DEFRA
• Ireland - DAERA

If you are located outside of the United Kingdom please consult your local authorities and/or environmental agency.

5). 10 Top Tips for ABP incineration

Though incineration of ABP is a complex area, we’ve highlighted 10 things to consider ahead of embarking on ABP incineration:

1. You can only incinerate ABPs if the exhaust gas is held at 850°C for two seconds, or 1100°C for 0.2 seconds.
2. You can use a mobile incinerator, yet it’s subject to the same regulations as a static incinerator.
3. You must incinerate carcasses whole unless they’ve been cut up at a site that is approved for that purpose.
4. You must record temperatures during burning and keep the records for two years.
5. The company that made your incinerator must give you a manufacturer’s declaration. This must confirm the make and model of your incinerator, the setting you should use to meet the regulation heat, and that your machine can meet the required heat standards.
6. You must have written confirmation from a qualified service person, which shows your incinerator has been serviced at least once a year and is in full working order.
7. Your incinerator cannot be on the same premises as livestock if you burn ABPs from other sites.
8. Your incinerator should be on a hard standing, sloped to a nearby drain area that provides space for containers or vehicles to be cleaned.
9. • You must incinerate ABPs as quickly as possible - storing them for a maximum of seven days.
10. Your incinerator must have its own team of staff who do not share common areas or equipment with staff that work with livestock.