Waste streams from paper and cardboard mills are being turned in to poultry bedding by Veolia.
Veolia’s organics team has created a product called Agribed and is working with 300 poultry farms to provide the bedding for chickens and turkeys. It has a target to work with a quarter of UK demand.
The production process takes the discarded fibre from the pulping process in paper and cardboard mills. This is transformed into a kiln-dried paper crumb bedding.
It is approved by Defra, the Environment Agency and Red Tractor for use as an animal bedding and is delivered under Veolia’s Arden brand.
After use, it can be used in bio-energy applications where it can be used to provide renewable heat for poultry farms.
Veolia chief operating officer – treatment Donald Macphail said: “Veolia’s Arden branded products are widely respected for poultry bedding solutions, and Agribed now adds an important circular economy solution that can help reduce costs in the industry. By recycling an underused source of material this further helps reduce waste, increases sustainability for the industry, and also has the potential for cutting carbon.
“During a period of uncertainty in many supply chains, the Agribed product now offers high quality bedding options and will help maintain consistent reliable supplies at affordable prices.”
