Agrecovery has recently launched a Silage Wrap Recycling programme in New Zealand in an effort to recover the estimated 4,000 tonnes of baled silage wrap used nationwide every year.

Agrecovery Foundation, a not-for-profit charitable trust which governs the Agrecovery rural recycling programme, has successfully operated a recycling programme for agrichemical and animal health plastic containers since April 2007.

“Adding silage wrap recovery is a natural progression for Agrecovery,” Director of 3R Group, Programme Managers for Agrecovery, Bruce Emerson, said. “Farmers have been actively encouraging us to provide a solution that was user friendly, cost efficient and accessible nationwide.”

“Using Agrecovery, apart from improving ‘on-farm’ environmental performance, just makes sense.

“A lot of our offshore trading partners have been involved in similar recycling activities for many years and programmes like Agrecovery are business as usual. Apart from keeping pace with our competitors, operating to environmental best practice makes sense when we regularly trade off our ‘100% pure’ environment.”

On-farm plastics pose a significant and growing problem for New Zealand farmers as the scrutiny of farming practices through compliance programmes, as well as customer driven environmental standards, place increased pressure on the primary sector to manage their environmental footprint in a positive way.

Common farming practice in New Zealand has been to either burn or bury plastic wrap, neither of which is environmentally sustainable.

“It is widely acknowledged that wrap left lying around on-farm is a potential hazard and it contaminates water ways, stock and the general farm environment. For New Zealand to maintain its ‘clean-green’ image, vital to our primary export sectors, we need to do more than we currently are to address the appropriate handling and disposal options of on-farm plastics,” Mr Emerson said.

“Recovery is a better environmental outcome than burning or dumping, and Agrecovery is well placed to provide a Wrap recovery programme alongside its successful Container recycling programme.”

The programme is a simple one, allowing farmers to purchase a packet of wrap recycling bags from most rural retailers or direct from Agrecovery (by phone or online). Each packet of wrap bags contains 5 bags, enough to recycle approximately 60 wraps at a cost of about $1 per bale wrap.

“Rural retailers have been very supportive of the programme and make no margin on bag sales as they see the benefits of contributing to efforts to recover plastic silage wrap,” Mr Emerson said.

“There are no hidden costs. All costs, including collection, are contained within the bag price.”

The process of preparing wrap for recycling is also simple. As wrap is removed from the bale, farmers should ‘shake, roll and stuff’: shake off as much rubbish and water from the plastic as possible, roll the wrap tightly and stuff it in the bag. Once full, the bag should be tied off and stored in a dry location. Collection can then be logged with Agrecovery by phone, post or online, and a compliance certificate requested.

The bags are about the size of a household wheelie bin making it simple for individuals to handle without the need for machinery.

Collection of Agrecovery wrap bags will take place once a reasonable volume has been achieved in any given region. It will take place at the farm gate or at a notified collection point, such as a local school or rural retailer.

“For about $1 per bale wrap farmers can protect their land and the environment,” Mr Emerson said.

The Agrecovery programme has a strong governance structure with its trustees representing Fonterra, Federated Farmers, HortNZ, Environment Waikato (for local government) and Agcarm (NZ Association for Animal Health and Crop Protection).