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Iowa landfill stops taking dead birds affected by bird flu

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June 26th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

MALVERN, Iowa (AP) – A southwestern Iowa landfill has stopped accepting dead birds and related waste from the recent bird flu outbreak.

Mills County spokeswoman Sheri Bowen tells the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil that the Loess Hills Landfill stopped taking in more birds after Wednesday’s shipments.
Officials the landfill might consider taking in more birds if another outbreak of avian flu were to occur. But at this point, Bowen says, “we’re unsure if we’ll take on more.”

As of Tuesday, trucks had hauled in 426 containers to the landfill, with each carrying seven to eight tons of dead birds, clean-up and protective equipment and other products for use during disposal. Millions of turkeys and chickens have died or have been euthanized to prevent further spreading of the avian flu.