Byproducts from an ethanol plant near Mead, Nebraska, are being faulted for the deaths of colonies of bees, birds, butterflies and other animals, and for polluting the environment with an indescribable stench.
Researchers say the plant is using corn treated with pesticides and herbicides to produce auto fuel and grains to sell for livestock feed. The company, AltEn, advertises itself as a “recycling” station for the pesticide-treated seeds. One of its waste products is what The Guardian describes as pesticide-laden, “smelly, lime-green mash of fermented grains.”
The company spreads the mash on farm fields — a process that environmentalists say is polluting the water and harming animals and people. What’s worse, testing of some of the waste has recorded levels of pesticides are literally “off the charts.”
SOURCE: The Guardian January 10, 2021