IN SEARCH OF ALTERNATIVES

MANAGEMENT TRENDS

nn EAT PROCESSORS jok- ingly boast that they use "every part of the pig except the squeal and the curl in the tail." In fact, meat pro- cessing generates almost as many by-products as it does - - -

meat cuts. For example, when a typical hog or steer is processed, about 45 percent of ei- ther animal becomes some kind of by-prod- uct - including everything from edible mus- cle and organ meats to hair, bones and paunch manure. A question being asked more frequently now is about the greater use of composting in the recovery of these by-products.

By-products generated by AAMP members (Percentage of members producing each by-product)

Fats & oil? . . *

Hide!

Offa II

Paunch manurl II rd

I

Historically, some meat processing by- products such as offal, blood, fats and hides had value. Renderers purchased and recy- cled them into a variety of products such as fertilizer, soap and animal feed supple- ments. In recent years, a series of interre- lated developments have changed meat processing by-products from a raw materi- al with value into a waste product that re- quires disposal, a t an increased cost. Incin- erators and landfills, possible by-products management options, are either too expen- sive or inconvenient. For example, many by-products (offal, fats, blood, etc.) are liq- uids and must be dried to a point where they can pass the EPA's "paint filter" test prior to disposal in landfills, increasing dis- posal costs.

Consolidation in the rendering industry has eliminated hundreds of local plants. To- day, most rendering service is provided by

Consolidations in rendering industry and shrinking demand for products derived from meat by-products are leaving processors searching for alternative outlets like composting.

Part I

Thomas E Seaman

lmmd Rendering costlre'

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six national operations. They run a small number of large rendering plants that offer service on a regional basis. These economies of scale force customers to pay for the in- creased travel expenses associated with longer collection trips. The logistical prob- lem has been exacerbated by rising diesel fuel prices. Most renderers have added fuel surcharges and some have stopped serving customers who produce comparatively small amounts of by-product.

Falling grain prices have contributed to the by-products disposal problem. Low corn and soy bean prices make them economical- ly attractive replacements for meat by-prod- uct derivatives. Items as diverse as soap, margarine and animal feed supplements, formerly made (in whole or in part) from meat by-products, a re now made from cheaper grains.

The American Association of Meat Pro- cessors (AAMP) is a national trade associa- tion representing over 1,900 small meat and poultry processors. AAMP members, lo- cated throughout the United States and Canada, process live animals, carcasses or other wholesale meat cuts into finished con- sumer products such as steaks, chops, hams and sausages. Many AAMP members spe- cialize in a single product such as sausage or jerky, while others make hundreds of dif- ferent products.

Finding reuse alternatives is especially difficult for the smaller meat processors. Many large processors generate enough by- products to justify their own rendering plants. The larger operations are primarily

History of removal fees (Number of members paying removal fees)

30 [1 1997 1998 19ga