The UK High Court has overturned the previous classification of chicken manure as an agricultural by-product in a landmark ruling, reclassing it as “waste” which must be disposed of in accordance with local council waste rules.
Herefordshire County Council (HCC) adopted a new Minerals and Waste Local Plan (MWLP) in March 2024, which included a new agricultural waste policy aimed at strengthening controls on agricultural waste-related developments.
The purpose of this plan was to outline the council’s “vision, objectives and strategy” for minerals and waste planning and management in the county, where consideration was given to measures to help address the poor state of water quality in the county’s rivers.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) mounted a judicial review against this plan, arguing that manure produced by commercial agricultural units should be classed as an agricultural by-product, instead of a waste product.
Environmental organisation, River Action, contended that damaging algal blooms in the River Wye had arisen as a result of livestock manure, which had contributed to excessive phosphate build-up in the soil and run off into waterways.
River Action argued that manure should be classified as a waste until its point of use under the national Waste Framework Directive (WFD) is defined and that controls need to be applied to ensure that waste producers take responsibility for disposing of waste in a lawful way.
During yesterday’s judgement (Monday, March 10), presiding judge, Justice Nathalie Lieven, ruled in favour of River Action in terms of the classification and disposal rules surrounding chicken manure.
Chicken manure
Given the environmental issues caused by chicken manure in the River Wye catchment area, Justice Lieven ruled that legally, manure is ‘waste’ up to the point it is sold or transferred to a third party.
This means that chicken producers in Herefordshire will have to provide a detailed plan at the planning application stage to ensure chicken manure can be disposed of safely, including full transparency on the manure’s destination and application.
Prior to the ruling, the NFU did not dispute the fact that chicken manure is the main source of nutrient pollution in the River Wye, despite its argument that the material be exempt from HCC’s current controls on waste handling.
However, the judge comprehensively rejected this argument, siding with River Action which stated that the current ‘Farming Rules for Water’ (FRfW) – which regulate the spreading of manure on fields – did not operating effectively where chicken manure was concerned.
She observed that the FRfW are “a regulatory regime which beyond any doubt had failed to protect the environment from harm” and that HCC was justified in adopting a policy that recognised that the FRfW were failing to operate effectively.
The judgment has huge implications for handling manure on farms and challenges the historic argument made by developers in planning applications, that environmental consequences of waste be the subject of other regulatory regimes.
River Action was represented by Leigh Day’s environmental team. Responding to her teams victory, solicitor Carol Day said:
“The NFU sought to challenge commonsense policies in the Minerals and Waste Local Plan requiring new poultry units to have a detailed plan for disposing of chicken manure on the basis that the manure is not waste in law and therefore not covered by the MWLP.
“The judge resoundingly agreed with River Action that chicken manure is classified as ‘waste’ in law. This judgment vindicates HCC’s approach and is a victory for the River Wye and the wider environment.”
“This means that people proposing new intensive poultry units in Herefordshire will need to put in place proper arrangements for dealing with the huge volumes of manure that is produced.
“The judgment should also now mean that proper environmental controls are put in place across the country to oversee the production and handling of manure from animals on farms,” she said.
