Alberta Expands Agricultural Plastics Recycling Program with New Funding

https://www.peaks-eco.com/Balers-for-plastic/balers-for-plastic-36.html

Beginning in 2026, recycling initiatives for compacted silage plastic and bale wrap will be introduced in select areas of Alberta under the "Alberta Ag-Plastic. Recycle It!" pilot program.

The Government of Alberta has renewed its funding and approved a two-year extension for the "Alberta Ag-Plastic. Recycle It!" pilot, a program launched in 2019 to provide farmers in Alberta with sustainable solutions that manage used plastic baler twine and grain bags.

The pilot is operated by Cleanfarms, an Etobicoke, Ontario-based nonprofit group that focuses on sustainability-related agriculture initiatives, in partnership with the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group (APRG), an Alberta-based coalition of recyclers, commodity groups, farmers, municipalities and nonprofits. These organizations share a mission to advance responsible agricultural plastics management across the province.

In addition to growing established operations, the organizations say the funding will support the expansion of the program, including a project aimed at collecting used silage plastic and bale wrap in targeted regions of the province.

The organizations say the program is valued within Alberta’s agricultural community, with farmers having returned more than 4.9 million kg of agricultural plastic to collection sites for recycling. That amount is equal to approximately 260 semitrailers full of grain bags and 38 semitrailers full of twine—enough twine to wrap 1.8 million large square hay bales, according to the program.

"Alberta Agriculture’s ongoing support of the pilot has allowed farmers to adopt more sustainable practices for plastic waste, while also helping to determine what an effective permanent program may look like,” says Assar Grinde, APRG chair. “The pilot has had great success with grain bags, and we are excited to build on the huge growth in twine collection volumes over the past year."

The renewed funding will support the launch of the second edition of the Great Twine Round-Up, a collection contest encouraging Albertans of all ages to gather used baler twine for recycling. Cash prizes will be awarded to local charities and 4-H clubs. In the contest’s first year, participants collected approximately 16,500 kg of used plastic baler twine for recycling.

According to the organizations, an estimated 3,350 metric tons of bale wrap and silage plastic are used annually by cow-calf operations, cattle feeders, and dairy farms in Alberta. The insights gained from this initiative will help shape the design of a future province-wide collection system for bale wrap and silage plastic.

“We’re proud to be working with the APRG, the Government of Alberta, Alberta Beef Producers, and all of Alberta’s hard-working ranchers and producers to continue evolving this program,” said Shane Hedderson, Director of Cleanfarms Western Canada. “As with all Cleanfarms programs, our goal is to support farmers and contribute to the emerging circular economy in Alberta agriculture through this project.”