Northwest Iowa — As the response to and cleanup of the bird flu continues, disposal — specifically having enough disposal options available to deal with the quantity of birds that have been euthanized, has become a huge issue.
We talked with Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig about the disposal of the birds. He tells us the current situation.
Naig says the goal is to decrease the amount of time that it takes to clean up. He says that not only makes turnaround faster for the facilities affected, but also stops the spread of the virus quicker.
He says different kinds of birds are being disposed of in different ways in Iowa.
But he says chickens are not composted in the buildings.
Naig says the Northwest Iowa Solid Waste Agency Landfill near Sheldon and another landfill in southwest Iowa are the only two landfills that are taking the chickens.
Naig says when it warms up, that should help stop the virus, plus depopulating and disposal of infected flocks quickly will help stop the spread as well. He says biosecurity needs to be stepped up as well.
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