United States Dead Animal Disposal Laws

3 Composting of mammalian tissue is prohibited in California

4 Composting is mentioned ONLY in a NC extension publication, not in any laws/regulations

26 states offer other methods which include:

• Extrusion - AR, GA, TX
• Boiling - KY, WV
• Digestion - GA, ID, LA, WA
• Natural Decomposition - ID, OR, WA
• Alkaline Hydrolysis - ND
• Lactic Acid Fermentation (for preservation until rendered) - FL, GA
• Feeding to alligators, fur animals or exotics - MS, GA, IN
• Other methods as approved - 18 states

Overview

US Butcher Waste and Mortality Disposal Laws

http://compost.css.cornell.edu/mapsdisposal.html

Regulations and laws concerning the disposal of dead animals, whether it be from normal mortality, disease outbreak or natural disaster vary. Some of these laws date back to 1963 when burial within 24 hours of death at least 3 feet underground and with a layer of quicklime to disinfect was the only option. These laws are not always based on scientific information regarding environmental and public health and safety. Since then, although other options are available, such as composting, digestion and alkaline hydrolysis, regulatory agencies have not necessarily embraced them. In addition, in many cases, more than one department within the State government is responsible for oversight of these laws and they are not necessarily coordinated.

This poster was designed to give an overview of the laws/policies that the authors were able to find online concerning dead animal disposal in the United States. This information may be useful in facilitating the development of workable carcass disposal solutions that are based on the lowest risk to both people and the environment.

4th International Symposium on Managing Animal Mortality, Products, By-Products and Associated Health Risk

Dearborn, MI

May 21-24, 2012

M.C. Schwarz and J. Bonhotal

Cornell Waste Management Institute

Other Methods

Disposal Law Finder Tool

Clicking on Virginia DEQ gives the following information:

An interactive disposal law map was developed using google maps to allow those seeking information on disposal laws and regulations in the United States to click and find. The map is searchable with categories that include State, Agency Responsible, Year the law/regulation was effective, or updated, and by the different disposal methods.

Clicking on one of the entries yields an information box with the name and address of the overseeing Agency and the code or document that pertains to mortality disposal including the name, year, website, premise of the code, and the disposal options addressed in that code.

Laws and Regulations Concerning Butcher Waste and Mortality Disposal in the United States

Example: Search by Compost; Show Yes:

yields 66 documents for 43 states

Disposal Options

Other Searches

The most common disposal options are burial, burning or incineration, composting, rendering and landfilling.

And one more thing...

Search:Agency Show: Agriculture

Conclusions

Regulation of dead animal disposal in 24 states is done by the Department of Agriculture, while 14 of them split the oversight with the Department of the Environment, because mortalities are considered solid waste.

Department of Agriculture

Search:Agency Show: Extension

Ultimately, disposal should be done in a manner that protects public health and safety, prevents adverse effects on water and air quality, does not create a nuisance, and prevents the spread of disease. Working together, laws and regulations can be made based on scientific research and information. These laws should not remain static, but should be reviewed every few years to ensure that new information is heeded and new technologies are being used.

In addition to regulation, 25 states refer livestock producers to educational materials produced by Cooperative Extension as Best Management Practices (BMP) for mortality disposal - this number is up from 19 in 2006.

States with Extension Publications

1 CA does not allow animals that have died from contagious disease to be rendered

2 The only mention of rendering in NJ law is for swine that have died from cholera

7 CA does not allow animals that have died from infectious disease to be landfilled

8 NJ regulations basically say that dead animals need to be managed in the same manner as any other agricultural waste, but does not give you any methods other than rendering for swine that died from cholera.

5 In NM, incineration is mentioned ONLY in an extension publication, not in any laws/regulations

6 In NY, incineration is mentioned only in relation to animals that die from Anthrax