Martlands provides a professional and fully compliant Category 3 Animal By-Product Collection service for low-risk materials across the North West. Category 3 (Cat 3) waste includes parts of slaughtered animals that are fit for human consumption but are not intended for it for commercial reasons, as well as former foodstuffs from retail and manufacturing. Whether you operate a supermarket in Lancashire or a food production facility in Cheshire, our DEFRA-approved team ensures that your low-risk animal by-products are collected and repurposed into sustainable outlets like pet food or renewable energy.
Sustainable Low-Risk Waste Management in Lancashire and Cheshire
As a specialist waste carrier with over a century of experience, Martlands offers a streamlined solution for the removal of Category 3 ABPs. Unlike high-risk categories, Cat 3 materials are valuable resources for the circular economy. We provide dedicated, scheduled routes for businesses in Lancashire and Cheshire, ensuring that your surplus food and animal-derived trimmings are handled with total hygiene and legal compliance.
What is Classified as Category 3 Animal By-Product?
Category 3 (Cat 3) materials are low-risk animal by-products that were originally fit for human consumption but are no longer intended for it. Martlands provides specialist Category 3 Animal By-Product Collection for a wide range of organic materials, including:
- Former Foodstuffs: Products of animal origin originally meant for human consumption but withdrawn for commercial reasons (e.g., packaging errors or surplus stock).
- Slaughterhouse By-Products: Carcasses or body parts passed fit for human consumption, including hides, skins, hooves, horns, and pig bristles.
- Poultry & Hatchery Waste: Eggs, eggshells, and hatchery by-products that show no sign of infectious disease.
- Aquatic Waste: Aquatic animals and shells from shellfish with remaining soft tissue.
- Natural Fibres: Wool, feathers, and hair from animals that were healthy at the time of slaughter.
- Commercial Catering Waste: Domestic and industrial catering waste containing products of animal origin.
Note: Category 3 catering waste specifically refers to food waste containing products of animal origin. Unlike general food waste, Category 3 materials include former foodstuffs of animal origin that are no longer intended for human consumption but are free from disease. We process these specifically for technical use or pet food manufacture, adhering to the latest March 2026 APHA guidelines.
The Value of Low-Risk ABP Recovery
Unlike high-risk waste that must be destroyed, Category 3 materials are a vital resource for the UK’s sustainable manufacturing sectors. By choosing Martlands for your collection in Lancashire or Cheshire, you ensure these materials are repurposed into high-quality technical products or renewable energy.
Supporting Your Business ESG and Sustainability Goals
Achieving Zero-to-Landfill Status
For modern retailers and food manufacturers in the North West, reducing environmental impact is a corporate priority. Our Category 3 Animal By-Product Collection service is designed to help you achieve “zero-to-landfill” status. By ensuring that every kilogramme of former foodstuffs and meat trimmings is diverted toward renewable energy or technical recycling, we help you lower your carbon footprint and demonstrate a commitment to the UK’s circular economy.
Carbon Reduction in Waste Logistics
Because Martlands operates locally across Lancashire, Cheshire, and Merseyside, we significantly reduce “waste miles” compared to national providers. Choosing a local, DEFRA-approved partner means fewer transport emissions associated with your waste management, providing a measurable boost to your environmental reporting and sustainability audits.
Sustainable Processing and Recycling Outlets
We direct your Category 3 waste toward DEFRA-approved facilities where it is processed into:
- Pet Food Ingredients: High-quality proteins and fats for the pet nutrition industry.
- Oleochemicals: Tallow and greases used in the production of soaps, lubricants, and biodiesels.
- Renewable Energy: Feedstock for Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants to generate green electricity.
- Organic Fertilisers: Nutrient-rich meat and bone meal used to improve soil health on farms across the North West.
Industry-Specific Category 3 Solutions
Retail & Supermarket Surplus Management
Managing large volumes of “former foodstuffs”—such as short-dated meat, dairy, or bakery products—requires a fast and hygienic solution. We provide retail-specific collection containers that are easy to load and seal, ensuring that your back-of-house areas remain clean and compliant with food safety standards while awaiting collection.
Industrial Meat Processing & Cutting Plants
For industrial-scale cutting plants in Lancashire and Cheshire, the volume of low-risk by-products (hides, fat, and bone) can be immense. We offer high-capacity, heavy-duty skips and sealed bulk containers, along with flexible collection frequencies that scale with your production peaks. Our service ensures that your site remains clear of organic waste, preventing pests and maintaining strict site biosecurity.
Preparing Your Site for Local Authority Inspections
Proper On-Site Segregation
To ensure your Category 3 materials remain valuable for recycling, they must be kept strictly separate from high-risk Category 1 or 2 waste and general refuse. Martlands can provide on-site training and clear signage for your staff, ensuring that your waste segregation meets the requirements of the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013. This proactive approach ensures your business is always “inspection-ready” for APHA or Environmental Health visits.
Why Choose Martlands for Category 3 Animal By-Product Collection?
Choosing a local partner for your Category 3 Animal By-Product Collection ensures a more responsive service and a smaller carbon footprint for your waste logistics. Martlands is committed to diverting waste from landfill by directing Cat 3 materials toward Anaerobic Digestion (AD) or specialised rendering for technical use.
Full Traceability and Environmental Compliance
Every collection we perform is backed by comprehensive documentation, essential for your environmental audits and local authority inspections.
- Modern Fleet: We use specialised, leak-proof vehicles designed specifically for the transport of low-risk ABPs to maintain strict site hygiene.
- Bio-Secure Protocols: Our drivers follow rigorous cleaning and disinfection protocols, ensuring no cross-contamination between sites in Lancashire or Cheshire.
- Digital Waste Transfer Notes: We issue all necessary commercial documents and Waste Transfer Notes (WTNs) at the point of collection, ensuring 100% traceability.
Our North West Service Coverage for Category 3 ABP Collection
Martlands provides a rapid-response collection service across the North West of England. Our strategic location in Burscough allows our fleet of specialist vehicles to reach farms quickly, ensuring biosecurity is maintained and disposal is handled legally and efficiently.
We provide comprehensive coverage across the following regions:
- Lancashire: Including Ormskirk, Burscough, Skelmersdale, Preston, Chorley, and Blackpool.
- Cheshire: Covering Northwich, Knutsford, Warrington, Chester, and the Wirral.
- South Cumbria: Serving agricultural communities in Kendal, Carnforth, Windermere, and the Furness Peninsula.
- Merseyside & Greater Manchester: Supporting rural fringes across the M6 and M62 corridors.
Integrated Animal By-Product Management
While Category 1 waste requires the most stringent level of containment and destruction, Martlands provides a complete range of disposal solutions for all organic waste streams. We work with food manufacturers, independent retailers, and agricultural businesses across Lancashire and Cheshire to ensure every classification of waste is handled sustainably and in full accordance with UK Animal By-Products Regulations.
Comprehensive Food Waste and ABP Solutions
Managing multiple waste streams is made simple with our integrated collection services. We provide dedicated routes and specialised containers for lower-risk materials, ensuring your business remains compliant while reducing environmental impact through renewable energy recovery and resource reclamation.
- Food Waste Collection: Discover our scheduled commercial recycling services for supermarkets, restaurants, and food production facilities.
- Butchers Waste Collection: Specialist removal of meat trimmings, bones, and fat from retail butchers and meat processing units.
- Category 1 ABP Collection: High-risk animal by-product removal, ensuring total biosecurity and legal compliance.
- Category 2 ABP Collection: Expert handling of Category 2 materials, including fallen stock and manure, for safe disposal or processing.
Specialist Agricultural Support and Livestock Removal
In addition to our industrial and commercial waste management, Martlands remains a dedicated partner to the North West farming community. Because Category 1 waste often involves animals suspected of carrying transmissible diseases, it is vital to have a collection partner that understands the nuances of agricultural biosecurity and statutory testing.
Emergency Farm and Fallen Stock Collection
If you have livestock that has died on-farm, particularly over-age cattle or animals requiring disease surveillance, our rapid-response team is available 24 hours a day. We operate as a DEFRA-approved sampling centre, ensuring that all carcasses are handled with the highest level of care to protect your remaining herd and maintain compliance with UK Animal By-Products Regulations.
- Farm and Fallen Stock Collection: Learn more about our 24-hour emergency removal service for cattle, sheep, and equine remains across Lancashire and Cheshire.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are Category 3 Animal By-Products?
Category 3 (Cat 3) consists of low-risk animal by-products. This includes parts of slaughtered animals that were originally fit for human consumption but are no longer intended for it for commercial reasons, as well as “former foodstuffs” like supermarket returns, kitchen scraps, and meat trimmings from butchers.
How does Category 3 differ from Category 1 and 2?
Category 3 is the lowest risk level. While Category 1 (high-risk/disease) and Category 2 (medium-risk/fallen stock) must be destroyed, Category 3 materials are often repurposed for beneficial uses such as pet food manufacturing, technical fats, or renewable energy.
What businesses require Category 3 collection services?
This service is essential for supermarkets, retail butchers, food manufacturing plants, commercial kitchens, and distribution centres across the North West. Any business handling products of animal origin that are surplus to requirements needs a licensed Category 3 collector.
How is Category 3 waste repurposed?
Martlands is committed to the circular economy. Category 3 waste is typically rendered to produce tallow (oils) and meat and bone meal (MBM). These are used in the production of high-quality pet food, organic fertilisers, or as a feedstock for Anaerobic Digestion (AD) to create green electricity.
Can Category 3 waste be used in Anaerobic Digestion?
Yes. Former foodstuffs and low-risk animal by-products are excellent for Anaerobic Digestion. This process breaks down the organic matter to produce biogas for energy and a nutrient-rich digestate that can be used as a natural fertiliser on farms in Lancashire and Cheshire.
Does Category 3 waste go to landfill?
Our goal is zero-to-landfill. By choosing Martlands for your Category 3 Animal By-Product Collection, you ensure that your waste is diverted toward sustainable recycling routes, helping your business meet its environmental and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) targets.
Is Martlands a licensed Category 3 waste carrier?
Yes. Martlands is a fully licensed and DEFRA-approved waste carrier. We operate under the strict guidelines of the UK Animal By-Products Regulations (ABPR), ensuring that your waste is handled legally from the point of collection to final processing.
What bins and containers do you provide for Cat 3 waste?
We provide a range of specialised, leak-proof, and lidded containers designed to maintain high hygiene standards on your premises. These are available in various sizes to suit the volume of waste produced by your butcher shop, deli, or factory.
Do you provide Waste Transfer Notes (WTNs) for collections?
Absolutely. For every Category 3 Animal By-Product Collection, we issue a commercial document and a Waste Transfer Note. This provides the full audit trail required for local authority inspections and environmental compliance records in Lancashire and Cheshire.
Which areas do you cover for regular collections?
We operate scheduled and cost-effective collection routes throughout Lancashire, Cheshire, South Cumbria, Merseyside, and Greater Manchester. Our primary service hubs include Ormskirk, Preston, Warrington, Chester, and Liverpool.
Contact Martlands Today
For immediate assistance or to schedule a regular collection, please contact our specialist agricultural team:
Phone: 01704 776977 (24-Hour Emergency Line)
Head Office: 01704 893161
Email: enquiries@martlands.co.uk
Address: Martlands Farm, Burscough, Lancashire, L40 0SD