A pilot program to help Sunraysia and Loddon farmers get rid of their old table grape covers, irrigation tubes and grain silo bags for free will be open until the end of October.
The pilot is part of the National Agricultural Plastics Stewardship Scheme, which is working to develop a viable market to recycle agricultural plastics.
It is being led by agricultural consultancy firm RMCG in collaboration with Growcom and partners and local businesses in the region.
RMCG project manager Carl Larsen, who is coordinating the pilot, says at this stage it is only collecting table grape covers and irrigation tubes from horticulture and grain silo bags from broadacre cropping, as these materials are the most problematic for the region.
And producers planning to get involved do need to take some steps to ensure their covers/tubes/bags can be managed by receival centres in Mildura, Swan Hill and Ouyen.
Irrigation tubes and dripline need to be mechanically coiled into tight rolls to make collections easier and minimise freight costs.
That means producers need to complete a recoil request online and Netafim will deliver a recoil retrieval machine to the nearest Netafim dealer (there is a nominal daily rental charge).
Coils need to be tightly tied with twine, or strapped, but no wire is allowed. Coils cannot exceed 1.2m in diameter.
All metal (cobra) clamps must be removed and coils can then be dropped off for free at Mildura or Swan Hill.
“For silo bags the plastic needs to be clean and rolled for collection, so make sure you separate all materials and brush off any excess dirt and plant matter,” Carl says.
“Retrieval equipment will be available to help producers prepare their irrigation tube and grain bags.”
For manual recycling bags also need to be cut into sections for easy management – for example, if it is a 75m long bag, cut it into four equal sections, meaning each section will weigh around 20kg when folded. Larger bags may need to be cut into more sections.
Make sure there is no residual grain then fold into a tight bundle no more than 1m square for transport to the collection facility where they can be unloaded manually.
For mechanical collection contact RMCG on 5441 4821 to schedule hire of a grain bag retriever (which has three linkage points and operates from a tractor or telehandler hydraulics) which can be hired for $70 a day.
Carl points out use of a mechanical retriever allows bags up to 100m to be rolled up, booked in for delivery and mechanically unloaded at the receival centre.
“Plastic waste is a huge problem for our primary producers in Australia,” Carl adds.
“As there are limited options for recycling this type of waste, it is often disposed of in harmful ways that can pollute our environment.
“We know industry wants to do the right thing, and this pilot program provides an opportunity to work with industry leaders, collect end-of-life agricultural plastics and turn these products back into new ones to help farmers reduce waste and save money.”
The program is now in its last two months and all qualifying materials are free to drop-off at the collection sites, with a fee-for-service farm collection available for large amounts of agricultural plastic.Drop-off sites and collection times:▪ Mildura Rural City Council landfill, 15 Scherger Dr, Mildura VIC 3500
Tuesdays 8.15am–4.45pm, Wednesdays 8.15am–4.45pm and Thursdays 8:15am–4:45pm▪ Swan Hill Rural City Council landfill, 6859 Sea Lake-Swan Hill Rd, Swan Hill VIC 3585
Thursdays 8.30am-11.30am▪ North West Ag Services, 101 Farrell St, Ouyen VIC 3490
The first Wednesday of each month from 3pm-5pm with a barbecue and networking opportunity.Further information and an expression of interest form can be found at rmcg.com.au/agplasticpilotvic or phone 5441 4821.
