Turning poultry waste into profit

It seems everyone nowadays is into biofuels. But when the largest poultry processor in the world decides to enter the biofuels arena, it makes a big difference.

The bigger trend in the industry, however, is how to go from waste to by-product. Although the fatty wastes of animal processing have always been rendered in order to make a sellable by-product, over the past couple of years, newer technologies have allowed the conversion of further wastes into higher-priced goods. Another recent example is the development of a biodegradable plastic from feathers.

In most of these cases, the technology is not entirely new, but based on decades-old research. What has prompted these new trends? There are several reasons for this, but the bottom line, as in any business is money. Why pay for the disposal of waste if you can transform it into something useful that can actually make money?

Furthermore, as the poultry processing industry has become more competitive, any reduction in costs or increase in profits can make the difference between a company staying in the market or sinking into oblivion. Therefore, creativity has become another valuable asset.

However, the poultry industry shouldn’t think exclusively in terms of products derived from poultry. There are plenty of opportunities out there to make an extra buck. For example, large retail surfaces like hypermarkets have recently been installing solar panels on their roofs, in the process utilizing a vast under-used space. Any extra electricity produced not used by the supermarket itself is resold back to the grid. Now why can’t poultry processors do the same?

Just another thought on how to turn “waste” into a useful “by-product”, plus some extra benefits for any companies “green credentials”. Any takers out there?