Avara unveils plan to reduce excess phosphate in River Wye

By 2025, Avara said its supply chain would no longer contribute to excess phosphate in the River Wye
By 2025, Avara said its supply chain would no longer contribute to excess phosphate in the River Wye

One of the UK's largest poultry processors has unveiled a plan outlining ways its supply chain will no longer contribute to excess phosphate in the River Wye.

Avara, which has 120 supplying farms within the catchment producing just under 160k tons of manure each year, said it recognised that the "wider impact" of food production "must be managed".

The Herefordshire firm is one of the UK’s largest producers of poultry, providing food for a quarter of UK families each week.

The issue of River Wye's water quality centres around algal blooms, which grow quickly in hot weather and lower river levels, reducing the oxygen content, killing aquatic life and impacting on the water quality.

Avara's new plan is based on extracting accurate data from the supply chain, which it said would provide a clearer picture of its contribution to the issue.

The plan revolves around new ways of managing poultry manure from catchment farms, directing it away from the land where possible or with enhanced land management standards in place where it continues to be applied.

By 2025, Avara said its supply chain would no longer contribute to excess phosphate in the River Wye.

The company said: "We have consistently said that the origins of the problem, and implementing the necessary solutions, are not within the power of any single organisation.

"The situation in the Wye is a jigsaw puzzle of connected challenges and solutions, and it will require collaboration between all interested parties to fully address all of the root causes and return the Wye back to health."

Avara added: "We have publicly committed to do our part, and have published an overview of our plans here, but there is a very real risk that our actions alone will not be enough to reverse the decline of the River."