Farmers urged not to let recycling efforts go to waste
Aug 2009

With the UK’s farming industry now fully embracing the concept of recycling its plastic scrap, a major recycler is urging farmers and agricultural contractors to consider the bigger picture in order to prevent their eco-conscious efforts going to waste.

bpi.recycled products, the largest recycler of waste polythene in Europe, says it’s vital that farmers and contractors not only think about recycling material such as used silage sheets, balewrap and crop film, but also about where this recycling takes place.

“As most large scale reprocessing actually takes place abroad, specifically in the Far East, the green benefits of recycling plastic waste can easily be offset by the transport emission in shipping the scrap overseas and then bringing the recycled products back,” explains Ken Oswin, Operations Director at bpi.recycled products.

“bpi.recycled products’ UK-wide network of reprocessing plants enables farm plastics to be recycled right here in the UK. Collectively, these sites - which all enjoy Environment Agency accreditation - give us the capacity to reprocess in excess of 70,000 tonnes of scrap a year. We even operate a dedicated waste farm plastic reprocessing plant in Dumfries, which has recently seen a £2 million investment. At Dumfries we have been successfully recycling used farm plastic for over a decade giving it a new lease of life. As such we fully understand how best to manage this waste stream to achieve a lower environmental impact.”

By recycling UK waste at UK facilities farmers and agricultural contractors are contributing to the development of second generation products with a lower carbon footprint. bpi.recycled products plans to use more of our farm waste to create items like its Green Sack® range of 100% recycled refuse sacks and its Plaswood range of wood effect landscaping products.

Of course, many of us will already be familiar with the ‘bpi’ name. bpi.recycled products’ sister business is bpi.agri - one of the world’s leading suppliers of balewrapping films and the name behind such well known brands as Silotite®, Visqueen Poliwrap® and Polybale®.

The relationship enjoyed by the two businesses as part of the wider BPI (British Polythene Industries) plc group gives them an unrivalled ability to ‘close the loop’ on waste, with one manufacturer supplying products in the first instance and the other recycling them after use.

Summing up, Ken Oswin added: “We’re encouraging farmers and agricultural contractors to question where their plastic recycling takes place, not just for our benefit, but for their benefit and for the benefit of the wider environment. The complicated nature of the world’s environmental issues means the drawbacks to a given situation, such as the higher carbon footprint that comes of recycling abroad, may not always be obvious. Our advice is simple. To keep it green, keep it British.”

Those keen to take advantage of bpi.recycled products’ increased drive on agricultural scrap should call 01685 840 672 or email: recycle@bpipoly.com for details of their nearest collector.