December 1, 2009

The US meat and poultry sectors are increasingly turning their attention to creating renewable products (such as adhesives and plastics) from the animal by-products that can't be sold in supermarkets.

Meat processors, including Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms and Maple Leaf Foods, are developing new uses and markets for animal parts that are inedible to humans.

Some of the processors and projects mentioned is Tyson Foods' joint venture with Syntroleum Corporation of Tulsa to build a renewable fuels plant in Baton Rouge. The plant is reportedly expected to be operating in full capacity in July 2010, and will convert beef tallow, pork lard, chicken fat and cooking grease into a synthetic diesel fuel.

Another company is chicken processor Perdue Farms, which also collects poultry litter, a blend of manure and wood shavings, and converts it into organic fertilizer pellets.