Run-off from chicken manure presents 'particular problem' in Shropshire's bathing waterways, Parliament told
Organisations in Shropshire who have developed technology to combat run-off from chicken manure, which presents a "problem" for bathing water sites, have been highlighted in Parliament.
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan told MPs that run-off from chicken manure presents issues in bathing waters and rivers in the county.
She praised Harper Adams University and LOHAS Fertiliser, based in Oswestry, who have developed "great" technologies to tackle issues.
However, the Shropshire MP said the organisations are unable to scale up, and asked what steps the Government is taking to help roll out the technology across the country.
Helen Morgan MP said: "Run-off from chicken manure is a particular problem in the bathing waters and rivers in Shropshire.
"I have visited both Harper Adams University and LOHAS Fertiliser in my constituency, which have great new technologies to deal with chicken manure, stabilise it and moving that great fertiliser to other parts of the country where it causes fewer problems.
"However, they cannot scale up, so what steps is the Minister taking to enable the new technologies that could deal with some of these problems to be scaled up and used across the country?"
Last year, Shropshire's waterways, along with rivers across Herefordshire and Powys, were judged to be at risk by the Soil Association.
A 'Stop Killing Our Rivers' report looked at the escalating number of permits for factory chicken farms in England and Wales.
It said the industrial chicken meat sector expanded at a rate of one million birds per month since 2014 and was the leading cause of "dead zones" in the River Wye, where the muck from 20 million chickens contributed to phosphate pollution. This, in turn, causes algal blooms that suffocate plants and starve the wildlife that depend on them.
In June, plans for a 200,000-bird chicken megafarm in Shropshire were quashed, to environmental campaigners' delight.
Emma Hardy responded to Mrs Morgan, saying: "She raises a really interesting point - it is perhaps worrying how interested I am getting in what we can do with manure and human waste to provide organic fertiliser in our country.
"She has given a brilliant example of what can be done, and I will make sure that the Minister who is responsible for the circular economy, Mary Creagh, gets to hear about it and learn more."
