Subteams

Upcycling team logo AURPI: Upcycling Team
Auburn University building for the Biosystems Engineering department
Alabama's poultry and forestry industries generate enormous value for rural communities. But with that comes a cost. These industries produce large volumes of organic waste that can be difficult and expensive to manage. AURPI's Upcycling Team is dedicated to turning those challenges into opportunities. With developing technologies, our researchers are converting poultry byproducts and wastewater into safe, usable, and nutrient-rich resources.
Recent Projects:
One of the team's research projects for 2025 included conducting trials using poultry wastewater to boost crops. Every year, a small lake's worth of H20 is used by broiler chicks, then wasted. But the Upcycling Team found that this water has nutritional value and canbe used to boost plant growth significantly.
Want to hear about this project from its lead investigator? In a podcast with MeatingPod, Dr. Brendan Higgins breaks down the research behind the use of wastewater and how it can help Alabama's poultry industry.
Chickens in a coop
Future Goals for Helping Rural Alabama:
In addition to further developing the wastewater project highlighted above, the team will continue researching a viable solution to food waste. They have found that blending food waste with poultry litter can serve as a viable substrate for black soldier fly larvae, offering a sustainable approach to food waste reduction. Over the next year, the Upcycling Team plans to deepen its efforts to build sustainable waste-to-resource pathways by continuing these research projects. Their hope is to create practical solutions that will help farmers all over Alabama turn waste into value.