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(Bogush et al. 2018)

Poultry litter is a waste derived from the poultry industry, containing a mixture of faeces, urine, feathers and bedding. Approximately 2 million tonnes are produced each year, the majority of which is re-used directly as fertiliser (approximately 1.2 million tonnes) with the remainder used as biomass fuel (0.6 million tonnes) and in anaerobic digestion (0.2 million tonnes) (Tolvik, 2020).

There are 3 UK biomass plants that utilise poultry litter as fuel – Thetford, Eye and Westfield all located near concentrated areas of poultry farming in Norfolk, Suffolk and Fife respectively (Ofgem, 2021). All sites co-combust poultry litter with horse bedding and/or wood chips.

Poultry litter ash contains high levels of CaO and P2O5.

Like MBM ash, the high level of P2O5 makes poultry litter an attractive fertiliser. Indeed, UK standards and quality protocols exist for the use of poultry litter ash as a fertiliser (Environment Agency, 2012) and it is supplied in the UK under the brand name Fibrophos.