Farms end up with a lot of plastic waste over the course of a season - from agrichemical packaging to silage wrap. Farm Source Rubbish to Re-Usable solutions offer farmers a range of options to responsibly manage the plastic waste in partnership with AgRecovery and Plasback.
All Farm Source stores have a container or cage onsite offering customers easy and convenient recycling. Recycling empty agrichemical containers has become a regular part of a shopping experience for many farmers at our Farm Source stores.
In fact, since July 2019, nearly 150,000 kg of HDPE plastic containers have been recycled at Farm Source sites through AgRecovery.
Containers from participating brands are free to recycle as long as they have been triple-rinsed and meet the criteria. All containers are recycled right here in New Zealand into other uses such as underground electrical cable cover and plastic plywood.
Established in 2007, AgRecovery offers recycling of farm plastics such as containers, drums, intermediate bulk containers, bag liners and woven polypropylene seed, feed and fertiliser bags. The organisation has more than 160 fixed sites nationwide (including Farm Source stores) and also provides on farm collections for large items or large quantities of containers. Woven PP bags from a range of participating brands can be recycled for free.
In the past year AgRecovery has recycled almost 435,000 kg of plastic (4,435,778 kgsince 2007), and recovered almost 174,000 kg of chemicals since 2009.
General Manager of On-Farm Excellence Environment Andrew Millar says it’s easier than ever for farmers to tackle their on farm waste with the Co-op’s Rubbish to Re-Usable solutions.
"With autumn calving around the corner, the amount of feed bag waste will increase dramatically. Bags and bag liners from participating brands can be recycled at your local Farm Source store. With more waste streams accepted and more participating brands, we can dramatically reduce the amount of on-farm waste produced each year."
Plasback is another key business supporting Rubbish to Re-Usable. Since 2006, Plasback has collected more than 30,000,000 kg of waste from farms. Plasback specialises in the management and recycling of rural plastics such asbailing wrap, twine, vineyard nets, Ecolab® drums and a wide range of waste plastics including polythene pipe. Operating as a simple bin and liner system, when combined with on-farm collection, Plasback makes recycling farm plastics easy. Bins and liners can be purchased from all Farm Source stores.
According to Plasback, around 11,000,000kg of silage plastic enters New Zealand each year, of which around 55% is collected for recycling. In the first year of The Co-operative Difference Plasback collected an additional 2,500,00 kg of silage plastic. Last year there was an increase of approximately 700,000 kg.
The Co-op’s own NZAgbiz products are also fully recyclable. NZAgbiz Planning and Procurement Manager Vanesa Petzer says the company has ensured its packaging is recyclable and works extensively with external agencies to ensure its products meet sustainability targets. Its website includes full details of what parts of its products can be recycled including multiwall bags, pails, bulk woven bags, cardboard bulk bins, and pallets, and instructions on how to recycle these.
If you want to find out more about what you can recycle, visit us at nzfarmsource.co.nz/recycle.