Recycling pilot program for grain bags, baler twine extended to Aug. 2023
Alberta Municipalities welcomes the news that a pilot program enabling farmers in Alberta to recycle grain bags and baler twine has been extended beyond its original three-year limit and has been granted $115,000 in additional funding.
The ‘Alberta Ag Plastic. Recycle it!’ recycling pilot program, which was originally scheduled to end in April 2022, will now continue until at least the end of August 2023.
Participation by farmers who use grain bags was robust over the first three years of the pilot program, with more than 1,700 tonnes of grain bag plastic recycled. The data generated by this program will be used to anticipate collection, transportation, and recycling costs for a province-wide, permanent program.
ABmunis is part of the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group, which was formed in 2016 to find solutions for agricultural plastics.
Our members passed a resolution in 2019 asking the provincial government to expand recycling options for agricultural plastics. Furthermore, we have recommended an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model for a permanent agricultural plastics program in our EPR submissions to the provincial government. We plan to continue advocating for a permanent agricultural plastics recycling program in the future.
To learn more about our work with Alberta Environment and Parks on EPR programs, please visit our Waste Management Hub.
