(1) “Active composting” means the accelerated decomposition of organic materials leading primarily to the production of carbon dioxide, water, heat, and compost.

  (2) “Aeration” or “aerate” means the introduction of air into compost by using porous bulking agents, agitating, turning, mixing, forcing air through open ended perforated pipes embedded in compost, or other method provided for by rule.

  (3) “Anaerobic digester” means a system designed to facilitate the production of methane from anaerobic microbial digestion of animal or food waste, including dead animals.

  (4) “Animal” means mollusks, crustaceans, and vertebrates other than human beings.

  (5) “Animal food manufacturing plant” means an establishment at which animal or pet food is produced through the slaughtering, boning, grinding, cooking, canning, or freezing of dead animals.

  (6) “Batch” means compost accumulated in a planned period of time.

  (7) “Biofilter cap” means a layer of fresh bulking agent placed over a pile.

  (8) “Bulking agent” means a material added to compost to provide nutrients, decrease bulk density, promote aeration, and remove heat.

  (9) “Compost leachate” means any liquid leaving compost by running off of the surface of the pile or flowing downward through the pores of the pile.

  (10) “Composting structure” means a structure designed and built for the sole purpose of composting organic material and dead animals.

  (11) “Curing” means the period of time after active composting when further decomposition occurs at a slow rate.

  (12) “Dead animals” means restaurant grease and the bodies, any part of the bodies, or any material produced from the bodies of animals that have been slaughtered or have died from any other cause and are not intended for human food. Dead animals do not include a finished product that has been processed by an approved method.

  (13) “Dead animal dealer” means a person that procures and transports dead animals to or from a facility licensed under this act.

  (14) “Decharacterize” means a procedure that renders dead animals unfit for human consumption.

  (15) “Denature” means a procedure that imparts a distinctive color, odor, or taste to dead animals so that the bodies are unfit for human consumption or cannot be used for animal or pet food unless properly rendered.

  (16) “Department” means the department of agriculture.

  (17) “Director” means the director of the department of agriculture or his or her authorized representative.

  (18) “Effluent” means any liquid leaving compost by running off the surface of the pile and flowing downward through the pores of the pile.

  (19) “Facility” means any of the following:

  (a) An animal food manufacturing plant.

  (b) A rendering plant.

  (c) A transfer station.

  (20) “Fresh” means bulking agents of plant origin that have not been mixed with any animal tissue, product, or excrement and have limited odor-producing potential.