MONROE - Green County farmers have another opportunity to dispose of waste agriculture plastic from silo bags and wrapped bales, free of any charge, during the next two weeks from Nov. 3-14 at the Green County Landfill. The landfill will be accepting agriculture plastics from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, during this two week period. Plastic will only be accepted from farmers owning land or residing in Green County.
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, bale wraps, bale wrap mesh, soap barrels and plastic twine will all be accepted. PVC pipe and plastic containers that contained either motor oil or pesticides will not be accepted during the collection.
"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," Mark Mayer, UW-Extension Agriculture Agent for Green County, said. "While the new technology allows for these Ag 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 accepted or recycled even with the newer washing technology for cleaning it."
Until this past year, nearly all Ag plastic waste was filling up landfills or being illegally burned as recyclers did not have the capability to process it, because it is contaminated with feed and/or soil.
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.
However, a few businesses have recently started up in the U.S. that can now recycle most Ag plastics. Green County has partnered up with one such firm called AGSI out of Savage, Minn. Several Green County dairy producers participated in a pilot collection project this past spring, which was highlighted in a recent article in Hoards Dairyman magazine. The pilot collection program was the first of its kind in Wisconsin and garnered over 50,000 pounds of plastic from Green County farmers. This plastic will be recycled and made into plastic timber, drainage tile, telephone poles and other items.
"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 depend on the type of response we see from farmers during this two week period. We collected over 50,000 pounds during a two week collection in March, and we hope to increase that amount during this collect period. If we have a good number of farmers show up with a good amount of plastic that is relatively clean, we will likely continue to schedule more opportunities for Green County farmers to recycle their agriculture plastics," Mayer said.
For more information about this collection effort contact the Green County Landfill at (608) 897-8605 or Mark Mayer at (608) 328-9440.
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, bale wraps, bale wrap mesh, soap barrels and plastic twine will all be accepted. PVC pipe and plastic containers that contained either motor oil or pesticides will not be accepted during the collection.
"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," Mark Mayer, UW-Extension Agriculture Agent for Green County, said. "While the new technology allows for these Ag 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 accepted or recycled even with the newer washing technology for cleaning it."
Until this past year, nearly all Ag plastic waste was filling up landfills or being illegally burned as recyclers did not have the capability to process it, because it is contaminated with feed and/or soil.
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.
However, a few businesses have recently started up in the U.S. that can now recycle most Ag plastics. Green County has partnered up with one such firm called AGSI out of Savage, Minn. Several Green County dairy producers participated in a pilot collection project this past spring, which was highlighted in a recent article in Hoards Dairyman magazine. The pilot collection program was the first of its kind in Wisconsin and garnered over 50,000 pounds of plastic from Green County farmers. This plastic will be recycled and made into plastic timber, drainage tile, telephone poles and other items.
"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 depend on the type of response we see from farmers during this two week period. We collected over 50,000 pounds during a two week collection in March, and we hope to increase that amount during this collect period. If we have a good number of farmers show up with a good amount of plastic that is relatively clean, we will likely continue to schedule more opportunities for Green County farmers to recycle their agriculture plastics," Mayer said.
For more information about this collection effort contact the Green County Landfill at (608) 897-8605 or Mark Mayer at (608) 328-9440.