By Charles Lefebvre

Province announces agricultural plastic recycling pilot project

Jan 21, 2019 | 2:50 PM

EDMONTON, AB — The provincial government has announced a new three-year pilot project for agricultural plastic recycling.

Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has provided a $750,000 grant to The Alberta Beef Producers to coordinate the program, which was created by the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group, made up of 20 organizations around the province.

The project will determine the financial cost, logistics and operations required to recycle agricultural plastics which could help inform future policy. The project is aimed at recycling gran bags and twine, researching markets for other agricultural plastics, a determine agricultural plastic volumes.

“Making agriculture more efficient and environmentally sustainable is a win for everyone,” said Oneil Carlier, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, in a news release. “Not only are we tackling the longstanding problem of wasted twine and agricultural plastics, we’re working with partners to find policy solutions that really work. This pilot program is shaping a move toward an environmentally sustainable future for our province.”

According to a provincial government study in 2012, roughly 50 per cent of agricultural producers in Alberta were burning their plastic products on their farms. Sending plastics to landfills was listed as another method of disposal.

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Saskatchewan ran a similar pilot program from 2011-2017, which resulted in a regulated recycling program for grain bags, the first in Canada.