Sec. 144.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Dead animal" means the whole or substantially whole carcass of a dead or fallen domestic animal, or domesticated wild animal, that was not slaughtered for human consumption.

(2) "Dead animal hauler" means a person who collects and disposes of dead animals for commercial purposes.

(3) "Disposal" means the burying, burning, cooking, processing, or rendering of dead animals or of renderable raw materials.

(4) "Employee" means a person who:

(A) is a legal employee of a rendering establishment; and

(B) handles or operates rendering equipment, utensils, containers, vehicles, or packaging materials owned or leased by the rendering establishment.

(5) "Nuisance" means any situation or condition that constitutes a nuisance under Section 341.011.

(6) "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, trust, company, or organization, and includes an agent, officer, or employee of that individual or entity.

(7) "Processing" means an operation or combination of operations through which materials derived from a dead animal or renderable raw material sources are:

(A) prepared for disposal at a rendering establishment;

(B) stored; or

(C) treated for commercial use or disposition, other than as food for human consumption.

(8) "Related station" means an operation or facility that is necessary or incidental to the operation of a rendering establishment and that is operated or maintained separately from the rendering establishment.

(9) "Rendering business" means the collection, transportation, disposal, or storage of dead animals or renderable raw materials for commercial purposes at locations where dead animals or renderable raw materials are rendered, boiled, processed, stored, transferred, or otherwise prepared, either as a separate business or in connection with any other established business.

(10) "Rendering establishment" means an establishment or part of an establishment, a plant, or any other premises at which dead animals or renderable raw materials are rendered, boiled, processed, or otherwise prepared to obtain a product for commercial use or disposition, other than as food for human consumption. The term includes all other operations and facilities that are necessary or incidental to the establishment.

(11) "Renderable raw material" means any unprocessed or partially processed material of animal or plant origin, other than a dead animal, that is processed by rendering establishments. The term includes:

(A) animals, poultry, or fish slaughtered or processed for human consumption but that are unsuitable for that use;

(B) the inedible products and by-products of animals, poultry, or fish slaughtered or processed for human consumption;

(C) parts from dead animals;

(D) whole or partial carcasses of dead poultry or fish;

(E) waste cooking greases; and

(F) recyclable cooking oil.

(12) "Recyclable cooking oil" means any unprocessed or partially processed grease, fat, or oil previously used in the cooking or preparation of food for human consumption and intended for recycling by being used or reused as:

(A) an ingredient in a process to make a product; or

(B) an effective substitute for a commercial product.

(13) "Renderable raw material hauler" means a person who collects or transports renderable raw materials for commercial purposes.

(14) "Transfer station" means a facility at which renderable raw materials are transferred from one conveyance to another.

(15) "Waste cooking grease" means any unprocessed or partially processed grease, fat, or oil previously used in the cooking or preparation of food for human consumption and no longer suitable for such use.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 485, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.