Agriculture

 

RECYCLING

Time to Recycle those Empty Grain Bags in Alberta; Cleanfarms’ Collection Sites are Ready and Waiting

It’s winter on the prairies, so it’s time to empty grain bags to move last fall’s harvest to dryers and then to market. For growers who use grain bags, that means recycling them instead of landfilling, storing or worse, burning them. For some Alberta farmers, this year could be the first time they’ve had an option to recycle. That’s where Cleanfarms comes in.

Under the newly minted ‘Alberta Ag-plastic. Recycle It!’ program led by the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group (APRG) and operated by Cleanfarms, farmers will find it more convenient to locate places that will take empty grain bags and twine for recycling.

For year one of this three-year pilot, Cleanfarms has established 20 collection sites throughout the province. Most are currently taking rolled, tied grain bags of any size, and twine for recycling. Some, however, just take grain bags and a few take only twine. The full roster of collection locations and what they take can be found on Cleanfarms.ca

 

Farmers preparing to recycle grain bags should know they need to shake them to remove debris, roll and tightly secure them with twine. Some collection sites have rollers and compactors available so farmers should contact sites for information beforehand. Twine should not be mixed with any other plastics and needs to be shaken to remove debris, placed loose in a Cleanfarms recycling bag and tied closed. Cleanfarms recycling bags are available at rural municipalities and ‘Alberta Ag-plastic. Recycle It!’ collection sites.

Farmers should contact collection sites for hours of operation and to schedule a drop-off time if assistance is required for unloading. The pilot is being funded through a grant from the Government of Alberta and administered by Alberta Beef Producers.

About the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group
The APRG is a group made up of over 20 stakeholder organizations from sectors across Alberta representing municipalities, producers, non-profits, recyclers and retailers among others. For a full list of members and more details please visit www.aprg.ca.