Cleanfarms celebrates 4 years of agriculture recycling programs
Agriculture recycling has increased and expanded across Saskatchewan, as Cleanfarms celebrates four years of its grain bag collection program.
Recycling collection sites are set up at 47 municipal landfills across the province, giving producers a place to take their used grain bags.
“It eliminates the need for landfills for these products,” Barry Friesen, executive director for Cleanfarms, said.
According to the company, the agriculture industry in Saskatchewan accumulates about 4,000 tonnes of plastic grain bags per year.
In 2018, Cleanfarms shipped about 8,500 tonnes of grain bag plastic for recycling, with 60 per cent of grain bags sold in Saskatchewan in 2020 being returned for recycling.
“In the future we will see what we call a circular economy,” Friesen said. “They will make these bags right back into new agriculture products. In fact it may even go into new grain bags in the future.”
With the success of the grain bag collection program, Cleanfarms started more pilot programs to collect other recyclable material like twine.
“A lot of this material is kind of a problem for landfills. It gets caught up in wheels, tires and agriculture equipment,” Tammy Shields, Cleanfarms western coordinator, said.
According to Shields, twine can be recycled into many different products. It’s made of 100 per cent polypropylene, which can be used in car parts, roofing materials, as well as for twine.
She said adding this program opens the door for more types of farming operations to the world of recycling.
“Where grain bags are, isn’t necessarily where the twine is,” Shields added. “The ranchers don’t necessarily overlap with the grain bags.”
Shields said the company has also just signed a partnership agreement with the Dairy Farmers of Canada to start a pilot program for recycling silage tarps and bail wrap, which is expected to begin in the near future.
A list of collection locations and current recyclable materials is available online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING King Charles' cancer treatment progressing well, says Buckingham Palace
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Regina police officer injured after being accidentally shot by fellow officer's gun
An investigation is underway after a Regina police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer’s gun during the search of a house early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Taylor Swift dons Montreal designer's dress in 'Fortnight' video
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
From faulty kids' cribs to flammable kids' bathrobes, here are the recalls of the week
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
Island near Mull of Kintyre for sale for US$3.1 million
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.