General Q&A
Section 7: Disposal of Bovine By-Products
7.1 GENERAL
Q.1. How safe is
the disposal system for cattle waste?
Q.2. Are the carcases
of BSE suspects rendered?
Q.3. What are the
EC rules on disposing of OTMS cattle?
Q.4. How many animals
have been slaughtered under the OTMS so far?
Q.5. How much MBM
and tallow is in store?
Q.6. Where is MBM
and tallow being stored pending destruction?
Q.7. What disposal
options are being considered?
Q.8. Have any contracts
to burn OTMS MBM been awarded?
Q.9. Have the MBM
incineration targets been met?
Q.10. How will we
know that burning will continue to the same high standard after consents
are granted?
Q.11. Is the Government
planning to landfill waste meat and bone meal (MBM) from cattle slaughtered
under the Over Thirty Month Scheme (OTMS) ?
Q.12. What controls
are there on rendering plants?
[return to Q&A index]
7.1 GENERAL (Last updated: March 2005)
Q.1. How safe is the disposal system for cattle waste?A. SEAC concluded in the summer of 1996 that the current and proposed methods of disposing of waste material arising from the slaughter of cattle are safe.
The Environment Agency has carried out a range of risk assessments using pessimistic assumptions which err on the side of caution. On the incineration of carcasses of BSE suspects, the risk calculation shows that the likelihood of the most exposed individual ingesting in one year sufficient material to cause infection to be less than one in 1,000 million, and that these risks are negligible compared to other risks of daily life (at least 3,000 times less than the risk of being struck by lightning). The Agency points out that in reality the real risk to the general public is way below that of the most exposed individual. The risks of incinerating OTMS cattle carcasses, because these are not BSE suspects are calculated to be lower still, one in 30,000 million.
Q.2. Are the carcases of BSE suspects rendered?
A. No. Cattle showing clinical signs of BSE are dealt with under
entirely separate arrangements. They are incinerated at Government expense.
Q.3. What are the EC rules on disposing of OTMS
cattle?
A. The carcasses of cattle slaughtered under the OTMS are required
by Commission Regulation 716/96 to be incinerated or sent to a rendering
plant for processing and then destroyed. In view of the limited amount
of incineration capacity available in the UK the Government announced
when the Scheme was being drawn up that OTMS waste material would be
treated primarily by rendering and the resultant products (meat and
bonemeal and tallow) disposed of by the best practicable environmental
option.
Q.4. How many animals have been slaughtered under
the OTMS so far?
A. As at 18th December 2005 8,306,723 cattle have been slaughtered.
Of these 1,757,222 have been sent for direct incineration, with the
remainder being sent for rendering.
Q.5. How much MBM and tallow is in store?
A. As at 10 October 2005 there was 60,977 tonnes
of OTMS MBM in store and 9,563 tonnes of OTMS tallow.
Q.6. Where is MBM and tallow being stored pending
destruction?
A. The material is being stored safely and securely at a number
of different sites across the country under the supervision of the Rural
Payments Agency. The storage is subject to requirements under planning,
environmental and health and safety legislation. Stores, which are licensed,
or registered as exempt, under waste legislation, are shown on the Environment
Agency's public register.
Q.7. What disposal options are being considered?
A. The Rural Payments Agency, which has day to day responsibility
for the operation of the Scheme, has conducted several successful tender
exercises to dispose of these animals either via direct incineration
or by rendering and then incineration of the rendered material with
energy recovery.
Q.8. Have any contracts to burn OTMS MBM been awarded?
A. Yes, following a tender conducted under EU rules, three contracts
were awarded by the Intervention Board, the successful companies being
Fibrogen, Prosper de Mulder (PDM) and Shanks. Fibrogen have now completed
this contract having incinerated 314,965 tonnes in just under 4 years.
PDM have incinerated some 337,316 tonnes to date at Widnes and Wymington
with both facilities introducing newly built incinerators in August
2000 and October 2000 respectively. The Wymington facility has completed
its contract, but the Widnes plant continues to incinerate 900 –
1,000 tonnes of OTMS MBM a week. Shanks new build plant at Fawley has
incinerated just under 70,500 tonnes and is also incinerating around
900 – 1,000 tonnes a week. Other smaller scale incinerators used
prior to the introduction of suitable large scale incinerators had incinerated
70,833.
Q.9. Have the MBM incineration targets been met?
A. Yes, RPA met its initial target of incinerating 60% of the total MBM produced under both the SCS and OTMS scheme by 1 April 2002, and is also likely to surpass the 1 April 2004 target of incinerating more than 85% of the total MBM produced since the scheme started. As at 22 February 2004 some 729,598 tonnes have been incinerated, which equates to 90% of the MBM produced.
Q.10. How will we know that burning will continue
to the same high standard after consents are granted?
A. Companies operating incineration facilities are subject to continuing
regulation under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 either by the
Environment Agency or the relevant local authority depending upon plant
capacity. The Act provides for monitoring and inspection and gives regulators
tough enforcement powers.
Q.11. Is the Government planning to landfill waste
meat and bone meal (MBM) from cattle slaughtered under the Over Thirty
Month Scheme (OTMS) ?
A. No. There is no plan to landfill waste OTMS MBM at this stage;
incineration with energy recovery is the Government's preferred route
for disposing of this material. However, it is prudent to be prepared
in the event that there is insufficient large-scale incineration capacity
to fulfil this objective. Should the Government need to actively consider
using landfill to supplement incineration capacity it would need to
seek the European Commission's agreement.
Q.12. What controls are there on rendering plants?
A. All rendering plants are required to be approved under the Animal
By-Products Reg to process ruminant waste. The State Veterinary Service
carry out regular announced and unannounced visits to check compliance
with this legislation. The disposal of liquid wastes from rendering
plants is rigorously controlled by the Environment Agency under legislation
for which the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
is responsible
Page last modified:
22 December 2005