Poly-Natural: Cutting plastic waste under the vines
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.
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.
