Six Collection Locations Added to 'Alberta Ag-plastic. Recycle It!' Grain Bag and Twine Recycling Program

? Number of collection sites across Alberta expanded to 26 ? 

LETHBRIDGE, AB, Oct. 21, 2020 /CNW/ - As of early October, six new locations came onboard as collection sites that are open and ready to accept empty agricultural grain bags and used twine for recycling. This increases the total number of collection locations in the 'Alberta Ag-plastic. Recycle It!' pilot program from 20 to 26.

The six new sites include:

• Clear Hills County at the Cleardale Transfer Station
• County of Forty Mile No. 8 at the Foremost Transfer Station
• County of Minburn at the Mannville Waste Transfer Station
• Cypress County at the Hilda Transfer Station
• Flagstaff County at the Flagstaff Waste Regional Landfill
• MD of Provost at the Provost Regional Landfill

The list of existing collection sites can be found on the Cleanfarms website on the 'Alberta Ag-plastic. Recycle It!' pilot program page. Most existing sites 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 pilot is on track with plans to expand access to grain bag and twine recycling collection sites. Ensuring Alberta farmers have every opportunity to recycle these plastic ag materials is imperative," said Cleanfarms' Executive Director Barry Friesen. "The plastics used in these agricultural tools are valuable resources and should be recovered and recycled in a circular economy."

Cleanfarms operates the 'Alberta Ag-plastic. Recycle It!' pilot on behalf of the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group (APRG) and started collection in October 2019. The project is being funded through a grant from the Government of Alberta and administered by Alberta Beef Producers.

Lisa Sulz sees this recycling program as a win-win for everyone. She is the agricultural fieldman for Cypress County which surrounds Medicine Hat.

"If we can keep these plastics out of the environment and recycle them, then why not. The more we can keep out of landfill and the environment, the better. Grain bags are bulky and take up a lot of room in landfill cells, and cells are expensive to build," she said. "There is no question that county rate payers benefit from this agricultural recycling program."

Stacey Barrows, who with her husband, Brent, farms 4,300 acres in the County of Forty Mile, in the southeast corner of Alberta, said farmers always want to be good stewards of their land.

"If we want our families to be able to stay on the farm, we need to think about the environment as a whole -- the land, water, and air. We all need to recycle not only to keep our farms healthy, but also to teach younger generations to be stewards of the land, too," Stacey emphasized.

About Cleanfarms
Cleanfarms is a non-profit industry stewardship organization committed to environmental responsibility through the proper management of agricultural plastic packaging and product waste. Recycled agricultural plastics are made into new products such as farm drainage tile, flexible irrigation pipe and plastic bags. Cleanfarms.ca

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.  

SOURCE CleanFARMS Inc.