Spotlight on Chicken Manure Ruling

Poultry farms in the UK are now subject to stricter regulations for disposing chicken manure. In March 2025, the High Court ruled that chicken manure is to be classified as industrial waste. This means that poultry farmers are required to make robust and transparent plans for the disposal of manure, in order to prevent environmental harm.

The ruling came out of an investigation by English and Welsh governments into the pollution of the River Wye, as the river’s health status deteriorated further to ‘unfavourable-declining’. This has been linked to intensive poultry farming in the area, particularly to the spread of phosphate-rich poultry manure on fields, which can leach into the river.

These new regulations also impact planning applications - poultry farmers must put forward their plans on how they will dispose of chicken manure before their application can be accepted.

Some local authorities are already requesting robust manure management plans.

This change in classification can be seen as a blow, or as an opportunity.

Although classed as a waste, poultry manure is actually a fantastic resource for many different applications.

For broiler farms, processing the manure on site to provide heat for the next crop cycle ticks many boxes, and could meet the more stringent regulations.

It is worth noting that the heat energy required for a typical broiler shed growing standards (2.2 kg birds), is nicely met by the energy available from the previous crop's manure.

Manure combustion on farm is one solution. However, with the demise of RHI and lack of other support at the moment the business model is tricky.

Gasification and pyrolysis is an alternative to combustion, where the manure is thermally processed, producing heat and biochar. The heat we can use in poultry houses in the conventional way, and the biochar also has value and can generate carbon credits - adding income streams.

The biochar market in the UK is gaining strength as biochar becomes more widely accepted and used in many sectors. The carbon credits are generated when the biochar is used appropriately to ensure the carbon within the char is locked up more permanently.

CFE is working with several gasification and pyrolysis machinery manufacturers, drawing on previous combustion; materials handling; and process engineering experience to offer on farm solutions.

CFE also has years of expertise in organic waste management, and we have a portfolio of projects with poultry farms, delivering renewable energy solutions to maximise their efficiency.

If you are interested in our services for your poultry farm, please visit our website: https://www.cfeng.co.uk/or contact Jules on 07811 199 585