Run by Agrecovery, the project seeks to find the best sustainable solutions for plastic waste such as fertiliser, seed and feed bags, as well as netting, silage wrap and twine.
It aims to repurpose this waste into new products for use instead of ending up in a refuse tip.
The Ministry of the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) is contributing $178,200 to the total project budget of $196,346.
The project will see the rural recycling programme work with industry associations, other recycling schemes, including Plasback, and the rural community to work towards finding new uses for these plastics.
One of the potential options for the plastic is to turn silage and bale wrap into products such as tuffboard, which is a plywood substitute.
This can be used in a variety of applications including animal pens, signs, barge boards under feed barriers and for use in deer, sheep and cattle handling pens.
Agrecovery commercial manager Richard Carroll says the project will bolster existing recycling services for farmers and growers – like what was provided for agrichemicals as well as those provided by Plasback – for silage and bale wrap.
“Supporting farmers to preserve the environment by offering alternatives to the harmful disposal practices of burning, burying and stockpiling of waste is vital for the future of New Zealand,” Carroll said.
“It demonstrates that the Government is committed to improving the environmental footprint of our rural communities.”
Carroll says more facilities were needed to process the more challenging plastics, including those used for seed, feed and fertiliser bags and horticultural netting.
“These are difficult to recycle due to their composition. The global trade for these scrap plastics is challenging at best and NZ does not have the technology to recycle these types of plastics,” he said.
The scope of this project includes, but is not limited to, plastic wrapping materials for silage or hay – including baleage wrap, hay bale netting, baling twine and covers for silage pits – and plastic sacks for packaging agricultural and horticultural products – including, fertiliser sacks, feed sacks and bulk tonne bags of woven polypropylene and/or polyethylene.
