EXPERTS say a horse produces its own weight in manure every three weeks. Collecting and disposing of manure can be a headache for anyone running an equine enterprise. Allowing it to pile up at the back of your property is not an option as it contains parasites which can contaminate your grass and water as well as infecting horses. A dung pile will also attract flies and rats.

There is a legal responsibility to dispose of waste responsibly. The Waste Management Act (1996) governs how we must manage and dispose of waste in Ireland. When you generate waste you are responsible for how this waste is disposed of along with any company you use to collect, dispose of or recycle this waste. There is an obligation on all parties involved to dispose of waste in compliance with applicable legislation.

Fáilte Ireland advises equine establishments to reduce their manure and bedding waste by 40% by composting it. Composting is the breakdown of organic material by organisms in a controlled environment. These organisms bring about decomposition by feeding on organic material.

Successful composting of organic materials requires the compost pile/row to have sufficient moisture and sufficient oxygen. In basic terms, water is added to the compost to maintain a certain moisture content, with the organic matter requiring turning to allow oxygen to enter the pile. There are different ways in which a composting system can be set up ranging from a simple low-cost compost heap to a fully automated system. Further information on how to compost horse manure can be obtained from Cré, the Composting Association of Ireland. Composting reduces manure volume by up to 40% and thereforer reduces the cost of off-site disposal.

Leinster-based Equiskips offers a a skip-based manure removal service which saves horse owners the need for a large capital investment in reinforced concrete and effluent tanks, and without taking up a lot of valuable space.

The benefits of the Equiskip system are:

  • The manure is kept neatly contained.
  • Run-off from the manure is kept to a minimum.
  • Removal of the muck on a regular basis decreases the chance of rodent infestation.
  • Removal of the manure removes the need to spread it on your own land.

    • Covering Dublin, Meath, Kildare and parts of Wicklow, Equiskips charge €120 per skip collection (based on a minimum four collections per year). The skips are approximately 3m×2m×1m tall (or 10’×6’×3’ if you prefer) and have a drop-down door in the front to enable wheelbarrow access for ease of filling.

    The full skip is taken to their composting facility at Equine Environmental Services near Maynooth where the manure is composted at a high temperature, thus killing all potential pathogens and weed seeds. The resulting high quality compost is then sold for use in gardens or agricultural production systems.

    Web: cre.ie

    Web: equiskips.com