MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Saskatchewan cattle producers are concerned about how clean agricultural plastic must be before recyclers will accept it.
The Saskatchewan government intends to implement new regulations for the collection and recycling of agricultural plastics, including twine, net and bale wrap, silage plastic and grain bags.
Pilot projects have been running since 2010, and the targeted launch date for the new regulations is next June.
However, there have already been cases where the recycler rejected plastic because it wasn’t clean enough, and that worries some producers.
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Ryan Beierbach of Whitewood said more work should be done on how clean the plastic has to be. For example, twine is trampled into mud and snow.
The increasing popularity of bale grazing means more twine is spread out in a larger area, added Bill Huber of Lipton. He said 4-H clubs used to collect twine to raise money and then burned it.
“Perhaps it would be better to go to a waste incinerator for energy,” he said, particularly if it is going to cost producers and recyclers more money to clean it.
Barry Friesen, general manager of CleanFarms Canada, told the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association annual general meeting that cleaning agricultural plastics is challenging, but the regulations are on their way.
“The current method of disposal is unacceptable,” he said.
Pushing grain bags into the bush, burying them or burning them is not allowed, he said. Air, water and soil pollution are all consequences of what farmers and ranchers do with their plastics.
“It’s just a matter of time before some environmentalist takes a soil or air sample and says, ‘this is where you’re growing our food,’ ” he said.
A draft report from environmental consultants for the environment ministry and the Saskatchewan Agricultural Stewardship Council outlines what Friesen calls broad and high level recommendations that will still give producers freedom to operate.
A stakeholder consultation is planned for July 4 to analyze the information.
The questions of cost and convenience must be answered, he said.
The report noted that staffed collection depots would cost $16,000 to $42,000 to operate at each of 42 locations. It also said 10 service providers would be required to cover the province, at a cost of $100,000 to $150,000 per provider per year.
Friesen said depots cost less than on-farm collection but are less convenient. Therefore, on-farm collection is more convenient and more expensive. The report also discussed how to encourage recycling and cover those costs.
General recommendations include beginning with a voluntary program, using existing depots from the pilot projects as starting points and encouraging the private sector to collect plastics, perhaps through a financial incentive.
The stock growers passed a resolution saying they don’t want a levy charged on twine, net wrap and silage plastic until the plastic can be collected “in the condition it is in when it is removed from feed stuffs” and recycled cost effectively.
