The Florida Agricultural Handbook of Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulation: Biological and Animal Waste Disposal1
How may I dispose of biological wastes?
Biological waste is defined in the Resource Recovery and Management Act (RRMA) as including, but not limited to, biomedical waste, diseased or dead animals, and other waste capable of transmitting pathogens to humans or animals. Biological wastes are subject to lower standards of disposal than most other solid wastes. In Florida, special rules apply to dead animals and poultry wastes.
How may I dispose of the carcasses of dead animals?
The carcasses of dead domestic animals may be disposed of as follows:
burned, if DACS (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services) determined a need to burn that type of animal, and if in compliance with the general burning statutes
buried at least two feet deep
disposed of by licensed rendering companies
Carcasses may not be disposed of as follows:
dumped on any public road or right-of-way
left where they may be consumed by animals
The statute defines domestic animals as including horses, cattle, goats, sheep, swine, dogs, cats, poultry, or other domesticated beasts or birds.
How may I properly dispose of poultry wastes?
Poultry wastes and residues may be disposed of as follows:
burned
rendered by an approved renderer
fed to swine (after adequate heat treatment)
buried in sanitary pits
composted
placed in a designated landfill
If waste must be transported to a disposal site, it must be placed in sealed containers to prevent spillage. Animal feed that reuses poultry waste as an ingredient may not be fed to ruminant animals due to disease concerns.
Footnotes
This is EDIS document FE778, a publication of the Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published November 2008. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
Disclaimer: This handbook is distributed with the understanding that the authors are not engaged in rendering legal or other professional advice and that the information contained herein should not be regarded or relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. This handbook is not all-inclusive in providing information to achieve compliance with laws and regulations governing the practice of agriculture. For these reasons, using these materials constitutes an agreement to hold harmless the authors, the Center for Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and the University of Florida for any liability claims, damages, or expenses that may be incurred by any person or party as a result of reference to or reliance upon the information contained in this handbook.
Michael T. Olexa, professor, Food and Resource Economics Department; director, Center for Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; and member, Florida Bar and Agricultural Law Committee of the Florida Bar; and Ian Goldfarb, graduate student, Levin College of Law and Hough Graduate School of Business, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
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For more information on obtaining other extension publications,
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University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative
Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
