Ecodrum - Benefits and Features

Any animal production operation (e.g.: swine, sheep, cattle, poultry, equine) produces daily mortalities due to weather, natural causes, accidents and/or illnesses. In most countries, the use of incineration or animal-derived protein from on-farm mortalities is not longer acceptable ways to dispose of dead animals and other alternatives are rather costly.

In principle, the Ecodrum can be used to manage any type of animal mortality. However, given the characteristics of the Ecodrum, due consideration should be given by the farm manager to decide whether or not the Ecodrum suits his or her operation. Please note that:

• Although the vessel has been developed having the swine industry in mind, the Ecodrum can be used by any type of animal production as long as the maximal daily capacity is respected.
• In the case of cattle and equine operations, the Ecodrum can be used to dispose of maternity mortalities, but keep in mind that many countries require special permits for cattle composting disposal.
• Meat transformation plants and butchers may want to consider the use of the Ecodrum as an environmentally sound way to dispose leftover by-products resulting from their plant operations.

Models and Capacity

There are two models of the Ecodrum currently available:

• The 240 Ecodrum Model has a capacity 366 cubic ft. This translates into a daily capacity of 370 lbs to process mortalities, a weekly capacity of 2,590 lbs, and a yearly capacity of up to 135,000 lbs.
• The 360 Ecodrum Model has a capacity of 549 cubic feet. This means a daily capacity to process mortalities of 570 lbs, a weekly capacity of 4,000 lbs, and yearly capacity of up to 210,000 lbs.

The sizes and capacity of both Ecodrum models have been designed based on maximum amount of mortality that can be consistently processed into compost at optimal time. Weekly average mortality at a farm under normal operation has also been taken into consideration for the design.