increase font size
New Zealand's leading rural recycling programme is running a rewards initiative this autumn to encourage more farmers to recycle.
The Agrecovery Rural Recycling Programme is offering ten $500 rural retailer vouchers as an incentive to ensure famers and growers protect the environment.
Recent media coverage has highlighted many farmers are still unaware of, or are not using, recycling solutions for their on-farm waste plastics.
The initiative aims to encourage farmers, growers and contractors to make the most of this free recycling programme for 1-60 litre plastic agrichemical, animal health and dairy hygiene containers.
This is particularly surprising when some recycling programmes are free to use, says Duncan Scotland of Agrecovery Rural Recycling.
"Agrecovery provides several free programmes, including plastic container recycling and large drum recovery. In addition our chemical recovery programme has funding which means that some chemicals are eligible for free collection while others may qualify for subsidies around collection and disposal costs."
Duncan says these programmes are well used in horticulture and viticulture where Agrecovery is part of quality assurance programmes such as NZ GAP, however uptake has been slower in pastoral farming and the dairy sector.
"Anyone who recycles eligible containers with the Agrecovery Container recycling programme during March and April 2012 will go in the draw to win one of ten $500 vouchers to spend with their preferred rural supplier," says Duncan.
"It's a useful prize and we hope it will encourage more farmers and growers to get on board and make the most of this free recycling programme.
"And of course the promotion is also open to new and existing members in all rural sectors and the turf industry, who utilise the programme to avoid unnecessary burning and dumping of plastic containers."
The Agrecovery Container recycling programme is funded by 56 of New Zealand's leading manufacturers and distributors of agrichemicals, fertilisers, dairy hygiene, animal health and biological products. Empty triple rinsed plastic containers (1-60 litres in size) from these companies are eligible for free recycling at 70 collection sites around the country.
"This is product stewardship in action; supporting New Zealand's clean green image and access to export markets with increasingly high environmental demands."
For full details of participating brands and local collection sites visit www.agrecovery.co.nz or freephone 0800 247 326. Agrecovery Competition Terms and Conditions apply. Visit the website for full details.
After five years giving a new lease of life to vineyard posts, Marlborough-based company Repost is getting its own upcycle, in a joint venture with timber manufacturer OneForty One, which mills micronised copper azoleated (MCA) posts at its Kaituna Mill.
Having already hit the headlines for recycling broken 2.4 metre vineyard posts into 1.8 and 1.6 metre, half and quarter posts for agriculture, Repost recently hit the milestone of one million posts recycled, diverting the CCA treated posts from landfill.
The Government is calling on rural New Zealanders to share their views on proposed regulations designed to improve the management of farm plastic waste.
When you think about the sheer numbers of plastic ‘bread bag’ clips, metal twisty ties and cane clips littering vineyards, it is a worrying thought.
Agrecovery, an accredited product stewardship scheme operator for farm plastics, has launched its latest initiative, allowing for the recycling of wool fadges.
An independent report, prepared for Alliance farmer shareholders is backing the proposed $250 million joint venture investment by Irish company Dawn Meats Group.
Whangarei field service technician, Bryce Dickson has cemented his place in John Deere’s history, becoming the first ever person to win an award for the third time at the annual Australian and New Zealand Technician of the Year Awards, announced at a gala dinner in Brisbane last night.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.
