Waste Water Treatment Costs in Poultry Rendering Plants in Georgia

Poultry products are an important source of agricultural income in Georgia and other southeastern states. Yet, the waste from poultry operations can lower water quality unless ways are found to reduce quantities discharged into streams and waterways. Present regulations require that all sewage discharged from processing and rendering plants have the equivalent of secondary stage treatment as defined by conventional biological standards [4]. More stringent regulations that would completely eliminate discharge of pollutants into waterways have been proposed [10]. Poultry processing and rendering plants must therefore adopt more advanced in-plant processes or private treatment systems or utilize public systems to achieve higher levels of waste water treatment in future years.