CleanFARMS, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is launching a pilot program to help Ontario farmers safely discard agricultural plastic waste.
The program, to be launched in the Lake Simcoe watershed in 2012, aims to help farmers responsibly dispose of agricultural plastic waste products, such as bale wrap.
According to recent research conducted by CleanFARMS, farmers in Ontario generate more than 14,000 tonnes of non-nutrient based waste on their farms each year.
Though there are stewardship programs in place across Canada for some agricultural waste products, such as empty pesticide containers, there are many products, such as fertilizer bags and plastic trays, for which no recycling options exist.
"Farmers don't want to burn waste or send it to landfills but it's difficult for them to be good stewards when there aren't programs in place to help them," said Barry Friesen, general manager of CleanFARMS, an industry-led national not-for-profit agricultural waste management organization.
"Where there are programs in place, farmers overwhelmingly choose to participate. The success of CleanFARMS' empty pesticide container recycling program is a prime example," said Friesen.
As of 2009, farmers across Canada have safely disposed of 83 million empty pesticide containers through CleanFARMS' empty pesticide container recycling program.
For more information, visit www.cleanfarms.ca
This news item first appeared in EcoLog News (1/13/12). To learn how to subscribe, visit www.ecolog.com