Cleanfarms/AgriRÉCUP Hosts Federal Agriculture Minister’s Fact Finding Tour of Ag Plastic Recycling

Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, learned firsthand how Canadian farmers/growers are adopting practices to expand the return of used agricultural plastics so these resource materials can be recycled, helping to feed Canada’s emerging circular economy.

Hosted Wednesday, June 7 by AgriRÉCUP, Minister Bibeau met with Executive Director, Barry Friesen to tour the Écocentre de Sainte-Scholastique, in Mirabel, Quebec. AgriRÉCUP is Cleanfarms’ operation in Quebec. The ecocenter works as a partner of AgriRÉCUP by operating a collection site where farmers can take used agricultural packaging and products so they can be recycled. AgriRÉCUP consolidates the materials and transports them to recycling facilities as part of our mandate as an industry stewardship organization to recover used plastic products and packaging for recycling or safe disposal on behalf of ag industry brand owners.

Also on hand to welcome the Minister were Patrick Charbonneau, Mayor of Mirabel; as well as other Mirabel representatives; Stéphane Michaud, General Manager, Corporation for the Protection of the Environment; Danny Laramée, Division Head, Corporation for the Protection of the Environment; and Jérôme Duguay, Director of Environmental Services.

Ag plastics are important tools that help farmers store feed for their livestock, bring crop inputs to their farm, and control moisture.

Cleanfarms/AgriRÉCUP and the federal Agriculture Ministry, under the leadership of Minister Bibeau, have worked collaboratively in several Canadian provinces since 2019 in a multi-year project aimed at increasing farmers’ access to recycling programs and exploring ways to deliver long-term, permanent programs. The pilots will help Canadian farmers continue to improve the sustainability of their operations. The project is funded in part by the Government of Canada through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program (CASPP), a $50.3 million, five-year investment to help the agricultural sector adapt and remain competitive.

Developing better management options for ag plastics recovery and recycling is central to Cleanfarms/ AgriRÉCUP’s goal of “Building a Zero-Plastic-Waste Strategy for Agriculture”.  Cleanfarms designs the pilots to ground-proof concepts and practical operations to recover the ag plastic materials that farmers regularly use. The aim is to increase the amount of ag plastic collected so that less of it is disposed of in landfills or burned or buried behind farm gates. Burning and burying plastics releases toxins into the environment.

The agricultural industry in Quebec generates about 11,000* tonnes of agricultural plastic waste annually.  AgriRÉCUP has been operating comprehensive, multi-material pilot programs for three years to recover these plastic resources for recycling in the circular economy.

Used ag plastics collected at the ecocentre include livestock silage bags, bale wrap, twine and tarps. When recycled, these products are remanufactured into new products such as plastic bags, construction sheeting, composite dimensional lumber, and agricultural fence posts.

Minister Bibeau represents the Riding of Compton-Stanstead in Quebec. Appointed the federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in 2019, she is the first woman in Canadian history to hold the position.

About Cleanfarms

Cleanfarms is an agricultural industry stewardship organization that contributes to a healthier environment and a sustainable future by recovering and recycling agricultural and related industry plastics, packaging and products. It is funded by its members in the crop protection, seed, fertilizer, animal health medication, ag plastics industries. It has staff located in Lethbridge, Alberta; Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Etobicoke, Ontario; and St-Bruno, Quebec.

*Quantity based on Recyc Québec 2019 Ag plastics study

“Student innovation helps Fraser Valley farmers tackle weighty plastic problem” featured in CBC News

British Columbia farmers are now able to easily handle and recycle their plastic, thanks to innovations from some University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) students and Cleanfarms.

Read: Student innovation helps Fraser Valley farmers tackle weighty plastic problem

“Moving toward a circular economy with agricultural recycling programs” featured in Globe & Mail’s Next Generation Farming Report

Containers of unwanted pesticides and old livestock/equine medications recovered at a recent Cleanfarms collection event

The Globe and Mail “Next Generation Farming Report” highlights Cleanfarms’ goal to keep plastics, like pesticide and fertilizer jugs, twine, bale and silage wrap, out of landfill and manage on-farm agricultural waste materials in the most sustainable way possible.

Visit: Moving toward a circular economy with agricultural recycling programs

Compactor Presses Proving Useful to Manage On-farm Used Silage and Bale Wrap Plastics

Ag forward: Managing on-farm plastics – Newsletter, #6

Many beef and dairy producers in Alberta protect livestock feed by covering it with special plastic film widely used in agriculture today.

Whether it’s silage bags or tubes, large tarps that cover the top of the silage piles, or plastic stretch film used to wrap hay bales, once the plastic is removed and no longer useful, it becomes waste. Historically, the only disposal options for these materials were landfilling or piling them behind the farm gate in hopes of a future recycling program.

Fortunately, a recycling option is now available for farmers in several parts of the province…

Read the full article: Ag Forward #6
View past editions: Ag forward: Managing on-farm plastics

Prince Edward Island Approves Cleanfarms’ EPR Product Stewardship Program

Continuing pesticide & fertilizer container plus seed & pesticide bags collections and adding fertilizer bags, bale and silage wrap and twine.

On October 26, Prince Edward Island (PE) approved Cleanfarms’ Product Stewardship Program (PSP), which will ensure that PE farmers can keep more and more ag plastics out of landfill and recirculated into the economy. The PSP responded to the provincial government’s regulation requiring the agricultural industry to operate and fund programs to recover and recycle ag packaging and products used in the province.

The PE program is the first government regulated extended producer responsibility program for agricultural plastics in the Maritime provinces.

Click here for approval-related documents.

What does this mean for the PEI’s agricultural sector?

Good agricultural end of life stewardship will continue and expand

  • Empty pesticide and fertilizer container recycling & seed and pesticide bag collection programs will continue.
  • Next year, farmers will have the opportunity to divert their fertilizer bags.
  • Existing pilots for bale/silage wrap and twine will expand over the next year.

New stakeholder advisory committee

The team at Cleanfarms is looking forward to setting up a Stakeholder Advisory Committee. This committee not will only advise Cleanfarms in implementation of the PSP, it will also help to disseminate information to help keep stakeholders informed.

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For more information:

Cleanfarms will continue to add new information to a dedicated webpage for this program as it develops.

We encourage you to contact Kim Timmer, Cleanfarms’ Director of Stakeholder Relations & Policy, for any questions as the program develops.

Building on leadership

Cleanfarms is an agricultural industry stewardship organization that contributes to a healthier environment and a sustainable future by recovering and recycling agricultural and related industry plastics, packaging and products. It is funded by its members in the crop protection, seed, fertilizer, animal health medication, ag plastics industries. It currently has offices located in Lethbridge, Alberta; Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Etobicoke, Ontario; and St-Bruno, Quebec.

For more than 30 years, farmers have recycled their empty pesticide containers through a voluntary, industry-funded recycling program, with ag-retailers acting as collection points. Fertilizer containers, along with seed and pesticide bags, were then added to the types of packaging that farmers turned in to their ag-retailer for proper recycling or disposal. Most recently, Island Waste Management Corporation (IWMC) began to work with farmers to recycle other types of agricultural plastics, like silage bags, silage bunker covers and tarps and bale/silage wrap. A Cleanfarms-led pilot project then brought a baler twine recycling pilot into the province.

Berry Global Collaborates to Increase Circularity for Agricultural Films

As a leader in the manufacturing of agricultural films, Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE: BERY) is collaborating with Cleanfarms and Poly-Ag Recycling on a closed-loop approach to advancing Canada’s circular economy. This Canada-based recycling initiative launched in early 2022 to recover used agricultural films, process recovered grain bag material, and produce new products with recycled content.

An analysis of agricultural plastic recycling in Canada by Cleanfarms last year found a significant portion of non-recycled ag plastic (e.g. LLDPE Wrap, LDPE Silage Bags and Bunker Covers and PP Woven Bags) could be captured by expanding existing programs or starting new ones…

Author, Berry Global

View full news release: Berry Global Collaborates to Increase Circularity for Agricultural Films

Cleanfarms’ Tammy Shields Wins Prestigious Waste Minimization Award for Ground-breaking Work in Grain Bag Recycling

The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council (SWRC) presented its 2022 prestigious Waste Minimization Award to Tammy Shields of Moose Jaw on April 28 at its annual Waste ReForum conference in Regina. With Ms. Shields is Henry Mutafya, Environmental Specialist at SaskTel which sponsored the SWRC awards program. The award honours an individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to waste reduction in the province. Ms. Shields was recognized as a pioneer in agricultural recycling for her ground-breaking work over the past 12 years helping to establish grain bag recycling in Saskatchewan. Ms. Shields is the Saskatchewan Program Advisor for Cleanfarms, a national agricultural industry stewardship organization that develops and implements recycling programs for agricultural plastics, packaging and products. – Cleanfarms photo

MOOSE JAW, SK (April 29, 2002) — Cleanfarms’ Saskatchewan Program Advisor, Tammy Shields, has been recognized as a pioneer in agricultural recycling for her ground-breaking work establishing grain bag recycling in Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council (SWRC) presented its 2022 prestigious Waste Minimization Award to Ms. Shields on April 28 at its annual Waste ReForum conference. The award honours an individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to waste reduction in the province.

“When we looked at how agricultural plastics recycling has evolved  in this province, Tammy Shields was a key driver. Everyone who is involved in recycling grain bags in Saskatchewan has benefited from her dedication,” said SWRC Executive Director Joanne Fedyk.

A native of Saskatchewan, Shields lives in Moose Jaw. Her education as an agrologist and her career path put her in fields with farmers, in municipal council chambers with elected representatives, at landfill sites with attendants and in board rooms with corporate executives. If the discussion involved agricultural sustainability, Shields took on the task and was equally comfortable in all those settings.  Well known for her environmentally-focused work among her peers, Shields also served as a director of the SWRC and worked with the Moose Jaw River Watershed Stewards.

Under Tammy’s leadership, the Moose Jaw River Watershed Stewards was the first watershed group to tackle household hazardous waste as well as agricultural plastics. That early effort resulted in the recycling of more than 450 tonnes of grain bag plastic.

“Tammy committed a lot of time to learning about all aspects of the agricultural plastics industry and is always willing to share her knowledge and learn from others to balance the producers concerns and protecting the environment. I do believe that she was one of the pioneers for where we are today in keeping ag plastics out of landfills or being disposed of on farm. Tammy so rightly deserves to be recognized for her contribution to the plastic recycling program in Saskatchewan,” said John Kindrachuk, executive director of the Redberry Lake Biosphere Region.

Shields is widely considered to be the “go-to” expert on grain bag recycling and it was that reputation that led Cleanfarms to invite her to join the team in 2017 as the stewardship organization was developing a product stewardship program plan for the grain bag industry under the province’s new regulation.

“Tammy kick-started grain bag recycling in Saskatchewan and is the driving force behind the province’s strong track record for responsible management of these items. It didn’t matter if farmers used three grain bags or three hundred, Tammy had time to work with everyone,” said Cleanfarms Executive Director Barry Friesen. “Her passion for agriculture combined with her dedication to promoting sustainability made her an ideal recipient for this award. We are very proud of her.”

Today, Shields not only oversees 45 grain bag recycling collection sites in Saskatchewan, she is also helping to organize grain bag and other ag plastic recycling in Alberta and Manitoba.

Cleanfarms is an agricultural industry stewardship organization that contributes to a healthier environment and a sustainable future by recovering and recycling agricultural and related industry plastics, packaging and products. It is funded by its members in the crop protection, seed, fertilizer, animal health medication and grain bag industries. It has staff located in Lethbridge, Alberta; Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Etobicoke, Ontario; and St-Bruno, Quebec.

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Cleanfarms.ca
Contact: Barbara McConnell   |   416-452-2373  |   bmcconnell@cleanfarms.ca

Alberta Recycling Pilot for Grain Bags and Baler Twine Extended to August 2023

 

—Extension Includes Additional Ag Plastic Recycling Collection Sites—

LETHBRIDGE, AB (April 28, 2022) – A pilot program enabling farmers in Alberta to recycle grain bags and baler twine has been extended beyond its original three-year limit and has been granted $115,000 in additional funding. Scheduled to end this month (April 2022), the ‘Alberta Ag Plastic. Recycle it!’ recycling pilot will now continue operations until at least the end of August 2023.

“This extension opens doors to expand the program to areas of the province not previously included, broadening opportunities for more farmers to participate in the program by recycling their grain bags and used baler twine,” said Al Kemmere, chair of the multi-stakeholder project lead, the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group (APRG). “The long-term goal of the group is to expand the pilot into a permanent program.”

Alberta’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development funded the pilot with $1M in 2019 and granted the extension and additional funds.

“Farmers are dedicated stewards of our lands, and this program makes it easier for them to recycle commonly-used items like grain bags and baler twine,” says Nate Horner, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development. “We’ve been so impressed with participation in the pilot program that extending it even further was an easy decision.”

 Participation by farmers who use grain bags has been robust over the three years of the pilot with more than 1,700 tonnes of grain bag plastic recycled. This level of participation has generated valuable data to anticipate collection, transportation and recycling costs for a province-wide, permanent program.

Used baler twine collected for recycling in the ‘Alberta Ag-Plastic. Recycle It!’ pilot. Cleanfarms photo.

“The extension will focus on increasing participation for baler twine recycling,” said Barry Friesen, executive director of Cleanfarms which operates the program. “It will enable us to investigate potential barriers to twine recycling and target education and promotion to encourage farmers to bring back more of this used material.”

To date, about 230 tonnes of baler twine has been recovered in the pilot, which is the equivalent of over 10 semi-trailers, fully loaded.

Farmers can go to AlbertaAgPlastics.ca on the Cleanfarms website to find twine and grain bag collection sites and instructions on how to prepare the material for recycling.

About the APRG

The Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group (APRG) formed in 2016 to find solutions for agricultural plastics. The APRG is made up of partners including commodity groups, retailers, municipalities, academic institutions, recyclers, and farmers. The group is now focused on the transition of the pilot into a permanent program as well as exploring solutions for other ag plastics such as bale wrap and silage plastic. aprg.ca

The pilot project is led by the multi-stakeholder Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group; funds were granted by the Government of Alberta and are administered by Alberta Beef Producers.

 

About Cleanfarms

Cleanfarms is a national, non-profit industry stewardship organization that designs and develops recycling and disposal solutions for farmers to manage used agricultural plastics and other non-organic ag packaging waste to help keep farms and farm communities clean. cleanfarms.ca

Media Contacts:

Tammy Schwass, APRG                 |  403-835-6467 |  tammy@albertaplasticsrecycling.com
Barbara McConnell, Cleanfarms  |  416-452-2373 |  bmcconnell@cleanfarms.ca

The Bovine: Finding solutions to ag plastics and welcoming youth to the table

This episode of The Bovine focuses on two topics—youth involvement and managing agricultural plastics—that are relevant to the beef industry.

In the first segment, host Debra Murphy talks to returning Finance Chair, Brodie Haugan, about his experience as a young delegate. Haugan then introduces past delegate and current ABP representative with the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group (APRG), Assar Grinde. The duo discuss APRG’s work on the Alberta Ag-Plastic. Recycle it! program.

The final segment features an interview with Kasko Cattle Company’s Ryan Kasko and Cleanfarms’ Davin Johnson. Kasko and Johnson talk a silage pit plastic pilot project underway in Lethbridge County.

Article with podcast