Recycling America’s chicken poop sounds great – unless you live next door

The site of the proposed biogas plant is seen from Seaford Road in Seaford, Delaware. Residents worry about pollution and the flow of heavy-duty vehicle traffic through the neighborhood. Photograph: Thalia Juarez/The Guardian

When Emanie Dorival moved to Seaford, Delaware, she was welcomed by a horrible stench. The smell came from rows and rows of chicken houses that hold thousands of birds and are located near mobile home parks, churches and single-family homes in this largely rural community.

“It’s like poop mixed with rotten eggs,” said the Haitian-born woman. “It’s part of the environment. People get used to it. I cannot get used to it.”