MONROE - Green County farmers will have an opportunity to dispose of waste agriculture plastic from silo bags and wrapped bales free of any charge during the week of April 14-18 at the Green County Landfill. The landfill will be accepting agriculture plastics from Green County farmers from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily that entire week. While plastic silo bags and wrapped bales have provided an economical way for farmers to preserve feed the proper disposal of the leftover plastic film has created a real problem for farmers.
Jim Hunkins, Landfill Manager and Mark Mayer, UW-Extension Agriculture Agent recently conducted a small pilot project with 8 farmers in the county to look at the feasibility of recycling agriculture plastics. Mayer stated, "We learned a few things from the pilot on what will and will not work in trying to get this large amount of waste plastic from the farms to a recycling facility. With over 49 million pounds of plastic from silo bags and wraps being sold to farmers in Wisconsin each year, this creates a large amount of plastic waste. None of which is currently being recycled and is instead being burned illegally or thrown into landfills."
All types of agriculture plastic will be accepted at the collection, including numbers 1-7. These plastic codes can usually be found imprinted on the bottom of containers or barrels. Plastic from silo bags, bales wraps, bale wrap mesh and plastic twine will all be accepted.
Plastic pesticide containers will not be accepted at the collection, but farmers are urged to hang onto them as a separate collection for these items will be held at the landfill later this year.
Even though burning agriculture plastics is illegal, many farmers have been doing so for years due to the cost of disposal and the fact that the plastic could not be recycled. In fact, several farmers in Green County have recently been fined by the Department of Natural Resources for burning used plastic on their farms. "This collection program provides area farmers with a free and legal method for disposing of their agriculture plastic while saving valuable space in our landfills. The plastic will be recycled using newer technology by a company in Minnesota and will be made into railroad ties and telephone poles," Mayer said.
However, that does not mean that all plastic will be accepted at the collection. "While the new technology allows for these agri-plastics to be recycled, the plastic still needs to be relatively clean, meaning it can not contain large amounts of mud, manure gravel or silage. We understand that not all of this material can be removed, but if the plastic is not relatively clean, it can not be recycled even with the newer washing technology for cleaning it," Mayer stated.
"We hope to continue to offer opportunities where farmers can bring their plastic to the landfill to have it recycled. However, the future of more collection programs like this will really depend on the type of response we see from farmers during the week of April 14-18 through this pilot program. If we have a good number of farmers show up with a good amount of plastic that is relatively clean, we will schedule more dates to collect the agriculture plastics," said Mayer.
For more information about this collection effort contact the Green County Landfill at (608) 897-8605 or Mark Mayer at (608) 328-9440.
Jim Hunkins, Landfill Manager and Mark Mayer, UW-Extension Agriculture Agent recently conducted a small pilot project with 8 farmers in the county to look at the feasibility of recycling agriculture plastics. Mayer stated, "We learned a few things from the pilot on what will and will not work in trying to get this large amount of waste plastic from the farms to a recycling facility. With over 49 million pounds of plastic from silo bags and wraps being sold to farmers in Wisconsin each year, this creates a large amount of plastic waste. None of which is currently being recycled and is instead being burned illegally or thrown into landfills."
All types of agriculture plastic will be accepted at the collection, including numbers 1-7. These plastic codes can usually be found imprinted on the bottom of containers or barrels. Plastic from silo bags, bales wraps, bale wrap mesh and plastic twine will all be accepted.
Plastic pesticide containers will not be accepted at the collection, but farmers are urged to hang onto them as a separate collection for these items will be held at the landfill later this year.
Even though burning agriculture plastics is illegal, many farmers have been doing so for years due to the cost of disposal and the fact that the plastic could not be recycled. In fact, several farmers in Green County have recently been fined by the Department of Natural Resources for burning used plastic on their farms. "This collection program provides area farmers with a free and legal method for disposing of their agriculture plastic while saving valuable space in our landfills. The plastic will be recycled using newer technology by a company in Minnesota and will be made into railroad ties and telephone poles," Mayer said.
However, that does not mean that all plastic will be accepted at the collection. "While the new technology allows for these agri-plastics to be recycled, the plastic still needs to be relatively clean, meaning it can not contain large amounts of mud, manure gravel or silage. We understand that not all of this material can be removed, but if the plastic is not relatively clean, it can not be recycled even with the newer washing technology for cleaning it," Mayer stated.
"We hope to continue to offer opportunities where farmers can bring their plastic to the landfill to have it recycled. However, the future of more collection programs like this will really depend on the type of response we see from farmers during the week of April 14-18 through this pilot program. If we have a good number of farmers show up with a good amount of plastic that is relatively clean, we will schedule more dates to collect the agriculture plastics," said Mayer.
For more information about this collection effort contact the Green County Landfill at (608) 897-8605 or Mark Mayer at (608) 328-9440.
