Grain bags are being collected for recycling in several provinces.
- British Columbia in a pilot program: BC – Peace River Regional District
- Alberta through the Alberta Ag-Plastic. Recycle It! program
- Saskatchewan through its regulated agricultural plastics program
- Manitoba via the Manitoba Ag Plastic Program (MAPP)
Grain Bag Recycling Information
Ag recycling – it’s easy to do when you know how and the prep-steps really matter. Let’s make it 100%!
Alberta
Follow 3 steps to help ensure your grain bags will be accepted and recycled.
Loosely rolled grain bags weigh very little but a require a lot of space plus they’re difficult to manage and they’re inefficient to transport for recycling. Please help out by taking 3 steps before you bring them to a collection site.
- Remove debris – Grain bags need to be free of as much foreign material (spoilage, dirt, rocks, etc.) as possible. Using a proper grain bag roller will help achieve that objective.
- Roll – Grain bags need to be rolled tightly with a mechanical grain bag roller* or old hay baler (most grain bag extractors roll the bags too loosely), and then secured tightly with twine. In Alberta, grain bag rollers are available for use in some municipalities. Contact your local collection site to enquire if a grain bag roller is available.
- Return – Contact your local pilot collection site prior to dropping off material if unloading assistance is required and if you are unsure if you have prepared the roll properly. Collection sites cannot accept unrolled, extractor rolled, or hand-rolled grain bags.
Saskatchewan
Follow these 3 steps to ensure that your used grain bags can be accepted and recycled:
- Shake – Remove debris; grain bags need to be as clean as possible with care to remove as much organic material (spoilage, dirt, etc.) before or during rolling. Excessively dirty or loose/unrolled bags may be rejected, or subject to a landfill tipping fee or additional charges at drop off.
- Roll – Prepare grain bags by rolling and tying with twine. Contact your local collection site for information on rolling grain bags. In Saskatchewan, starting in 2019, grain bag rollers should be available for use, free of charge, at most sites.
- Return – Please contact a collection site before dropping off material.
Manitoba
Follow these 3 steps to ensure that your used grain bags can be accepted and recycled:*
- Shake – Remove debris; grain bags need to be as clean as possible with care to remove as much organic material (spoilage, dirt, etc.) before or during rolling. Excessively dirty or loose/unrolled bags may be rejected, or subject to a landfill tipping fee or additional charges at drop off.
- Roll – Prepare grain bags by rolling and tying with twine. Contact your local collection site for information on rolling grain bags.
- Return – Please contact a collection site before dropping off material.
For more information about program background, please see: Manitoba Ag Plastic Plan
What‘s In & What’s Out in Alberta
| What’s In | What’s Out |
|---|---|
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*Some sites that have a compactor may be able to accept unrolled or hand-rolled grain bags. Contact your local collection site for further information. |
Machine Rolled and Secured with Twine
No Hand-Rolled Bags
No Loose Drop-Offs
No Silage Tarps or Other Material
What‘s In & What’s Out in Saskatchewan
| What’s In | What’s Out |
|---|---|
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What‘s In & What’s Out in Manitoba
| What’s In | What’s Out |
|---|---|
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*Some sites that have a compactor may be able to accept unrolled or hand-rolled grain bags. Contact your local collection site for further information. |
Alberta FAQs
Do all Alberta pilot sites collect grain bags along with twine?
There will be some variation between sites – please call ahead to check what your local site collects.
This program is a pilot which means that we are testing out recycling markets and program logistics. Collection sites may collect grain bags only, twine only or both based on the types of farms in the region and/or resources/equipment available.
Why do I need to use a separate mechanical roller instead of hand rolling or rolling the bag with my extractor?
Generally, plastics that are hand rolled, or rolled off an extractor, or collected loose, take up a large amount of space, are time consuming and difficult to handle with equipment, and they weigh very little, which is inefficient for transportation to a recycling facility, and the recyclers will not accept the material when it is loose.
Depending on the brand and model of your extractor, the bags may still be rolled very loosely which requires re-rolling before it can be efficiently transported to- and accepted by a recycling facility. Please contact your local collection site prior to drop-off to ensure your bags are acceptable for recycling.
My extractor has a rolling arm, is this sufficient?
Depending on the brand and model of your extractor, the bags may still be rolled very loosely which requires re-rolling before it can be efficiently transported to- and accepted by a recycling facility. Please contact your local collection site prior to drop-off to ensure your bags are acceptable for recycling.
Where can I rent or purchase a grain bag roller?
Please contact your local collection site or County/MD office to see if a grain bag roller is available to borrow or rent. Contact info@cleanfarms.ca for a list of known grain bag roller manufacturers.
Can I bring other types of ag plastics to a collection site?
Call your collection site first. Some sites are diverting other agricultural plastics from landfill. These practices are separate from this government funded pilot.
What about bulk bags, seed bags and pesticide bags?
Cleanfarms is in the final year of pilot programming in Alberta for a return to ag-retail for these materials. Please visit the SPI Program page for a map of the current participating retailers.
What about silage plastic and bale wrap?
Cleanfarms has recently launch a pilot program to collect silage plastic and bale wrap. Please visit the AB bale wrap and silage plastic program page for further details.
How do I recycle my other agricultural plastics?
Depending on the type of ag plastic, it may be collected at your municipal waste transfer site, landfill, or ag-retailer and then shipped to recycling markets. For further information, please visit our Alberta Program & Events page and click on the material you wish to recycle. If the material you are trying to recycle is not listed with a province with program, please contact our general information line at info@cleanfarms.ca for recycling options in your area.
Saskatchewan FAQs
Why is there an EHF on grain bags?
Grain bag recycling fees started November 1, 2018. The non-refundable EHF is part of a government regulated recycling program to fund the recycling of grain bags used in SK. The fee ($0.225 per kilogram) is applied when farmers purchase or import bags.
How much is the EHF on grain bags purchased in SK?
The non-refundable EHF is based on the weight of the grain bag and is 22.5 cents per kilogram. Here’s a link to the EHF schedule for different sizes of grain bags, which started on November 1, 2018.
Where does the EHF ‘end up’? Who manages this money?
First Sellers (companies that sell grain bags or import them into SK) are required by law to finance this recycling program and it’s financed via an EHF charged on grain bag sales. First Sellers remit this revenue to Cleanfarms, which operates the recycling program. Additional information about the important administrative aspects of this program are available here.
I work for a municipality or RM. I am seeing used grain bags in tree lines. How can Cleanfarms help?
Call Cleanfarms at 306-341-4460 and we can review some options like a special, blitz-style collection day or criteria for on-farm pickup for large volume users.
Cleanfarms can also provide RMs with tools to help increase farmer awareness of what options are available and allow councils to better understand what is needed to offer a permanent collection site in the area. It is important to note that the province-wide program is for grain bags only and excludes bale/silage film.
What else do I need to know about EHFs on grain bags?
The EHF reflects the cost to recycle the grain bag. This model, where the cost associated with managing a product at end of life, is applied at the time of purchase is used by other stewardship programs that recycle items like electronics and oil and is a normal practice.
Will a grain bag roller be available at my local collection site?
Collection sites have the option of making a grain bag roller available free of charge to participants or working with another local agency to do so. Cleanfarms provides a financial incentive to collection sites to cover the purchase, insurance and maintenance of this piece of equipment.
Talk to your local collection site to find out more.
Which collection sites offer on-farm rolling and/or pickup of grain bags?
Some sites, RMs and/or watershed groups offer value added services like on-farm pickup, rolling and baling. Call your collection site or 306 341 4460 to learn more. These services are separate from the Cleanfarms program and the incentive that is provided to collection sites.
The EHF helps cover costs associated with site maintenance, shipping, loading and transportation of used grain bags to end markets once they have been dropped off at a collection depot/site.
Where can I recycle my twine in Saskatchewan?
A twine recycling pilot is now available at select collection sites. Learn more here.
Manitoba FAQs
How is grain bag recycling in Manitoba funded?
Grain bags (along with baler twine) recycling is funded through a government approved industry stewardship plan. Starting in December 2021, an EHF is applied to grain bag and baler twine purchases made in the province. The EHF is $0.225/kg for grain bags and $0.33/kg for baler twine. View: Printable EHF Schedule for Grain Bags and Twine
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.
What Becomes What
