Recycling Options Available for Used Ag Plastic
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Area farmers now have the opportunity to dispose of their used plastic film from wrapped bales, bunker covers and silo bags every Wednesday at the Green County Landfill. The landfill is located between Monroe and Brodhead, at W2002 County SS, Brodhead, and is accepting used agriculture plastic film from 7:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., on Wednesdays. The Ag plastic recycling program is free and open to all farmers from surrounding counties to dispose of their used plastic.
Green County has successfully collected and recycled over 125 tons of used Ag Plastic over the past two years. However, that represents only a small amount of the estimated 500 tons of Ag plastics for silo bags, bunker cover and bales wraps that are sold annually in the area. Green County bales the used Ag plastic into one ton bales and a recycling vendor then provides the trucking to their plant in Arkansas where it is recycled into trash can liners.
Burning used plastic is illegal and farmers can be fined for this practice. Burning used Ag plastic is not only illegal, but it also releases dioxins into the environment that are hazardous to both humans and animals. The Green County recycling program provides area farmers with a free and legal method for disposing of their plastic and also frees up expensive space in our landfills.
While the local plastic collection will continue on Wednesdays, many area dairy and livestock farmers may have an even more attractive option for recycling their Ag plastic starting later this spring. Revolution Plastics, the recycling vendor the county is working with, will be expanding their offer of providing free dumpsters and on-farm pick up to several hundred more area farms.
UW-Extension and the Green County Landfill recently conducted a pilot program with Revolution Plastics in which 88 area farms received free dumpsters and on-farm pick up since last summer. Due to the success of the pilot program the company now plans to offer this program to several hundred more area farmers in 2016. Green County will serve as the hub for the rollout of this new program with farmers within a 70-mile radius of Green County being given first chance to participate in the free service offered by Revolution Plastics. After farmers in the immediate area are served, they will then expand out to a larger geographical area.
Dairy and livestock farmers interested in enrolling in the program that provides free use of a dumpster and on-farm pick up can register to get on a waiting list by going to the Revolution Plastics web site at: http://www.revolutionplastics.com/.
Only #4 plastic from silo bags, bunker covers, bale wraps from farms, along with greenhouse covers and drip tape from the greenhouse industry, are accepted through this collection. Plastic twine, mesh bale wraps, plastic jugs and all other types of plastic containers cannot be recycled through this program and will not be accepted.
While the newer technology allows for these Ag plastics to be recycled, the plastic still needs to be relatively clean, meaning it cannot contain large amounts of mud, manure, gravel, or silage. While it is not practical to remove all the dirt from the used plastic, if the plastic is not relatively clean it cannot be recycled. Farmers are asked at a minimum to shake any excess mud, gravel, dirt and feed off the plastic before storing it for recycling. It is also recommended that the bottom portion of silo bags be landfilled instead of being recycled.
For more information about the Green County Ag Plastic Collection program, go to the Green County UW-Extension web page at: http://green.uwex.edu/, or contact Mark Mayer, Green County UW-Extension Agriculture Agent, at (608) 328-9440 or mark.mayer@ces.uwex.edu.
