Richmond County’s largest private employer, Perdue Farms, will be featured this weekend on the Discovery Channel.

Perdue is being recognized for it’s “first-in-the-nation” poultry litter processing plant on the Delmarva Peninsula in Maryland.

“We are delighted that Perdue’s long-standing commitment to good stewardship ... got such recognition,” said Jim Perdue, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a press release. “Our associates work hard to be good environmental stewards, both through the company and with our family partners who actually grow the poultry. It’s great to see their efforts spotlighted.”

The Perdue AgriRecycle, as it is called, began operating in 2001 and has since recycled about one billion pounds of litter.

Perdue AgriRecycle collects chicken litter, a mixture of manure and natural bedding material, providing Delmarva poultry producers another option for their litter, other than using it as fertilizer for crops. The plant then dries, heats and processes the litter to produce a line of organic fertilizer products that are approved for use by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), under the guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program.

Perdue AgriRecycle also relocates litter to agricultural operations where the nutrients are needed.

The recycling effort has eliminated tons of excess nutrients from entering the Chesapeake watershed, the company says.

During the Discovery Channel program, Perdue will also be recognized for its agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help farmers keep waterways clean.

The segment includes interviews with Jim Perdue and Terri Wolf-Kin, an independent poultry producer who raises chickens for Perdue on her family farm in Hurlock, Md.

The Rockingham plant, where poultry is slaughtered and dressed, employs about 1,000 people.

As part of it’s Clean Waters Environmental Initiative, corporate communications director for Perdue, Luis Luna, said the Rockingham processing facility has initiated a recycling process that is currently recycling seven percent of all waste products. The goal is to have the program gain momentum and recycle at a much higher percentage, he said.

Luna said the Rockingham plant also has energy, utility and water reduction initiatives in place.

The company said, on it’s Web site, that its processing plants, such as the one in Rockingham, have some of the newest and most-advanced wastewater treatment facilities, helping to protect the waterways and has environmental managers on site to ensure every facility operates within 100 percent compliance of all environmental regulations and permits.

The Discovery Channel series is called “The Green Room” and debuts Saturday at 7:30 a.m. The series will highlight innovative ways the private sector is meeting environmental challenges.

“The Green Room” will initially consist of 13 original episodes that will be rebroadcast. Check local listings for more information.

Staff writer Eren Tataragasi can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 19 or at etataragasi@yourdailyjournal.com.