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
Thunderstorms kill 4 in southern Ont., knock out power in parts of Que.
As the May long weekend kicked off, a massive thunderstorm in southern Ontario and Quebec brought strong wind gusts that knocked down trees, took out power and left at least four people dead.

Flu cases on the rise in Canada despite expected fall
The federal government is reporting a sharp rise in influenza in recent months, at a time of the year when detected cases generally start to fall in Canada.
Toronto investigating first suspected case of monkeypox
Health officials in Toronto say they are investigating the first suspected case of monkeypox in the city.
A 'relieved' Jason Kenney says he won't run in the UCP leadership race
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he will not be running in the race to pick a new leader of the United Conservative party.
Putin's invasion of Ukraine an 'act of madness,' former U.K. PM Blair says
The United Kingdom's former prime minister Tony Blair says Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine is an 'act of madness.' In an interview on CTV's Question Period airing Sunday, Blair said Putin doesn't appear to be the same man he knew in the early 2000s.
Buffalo shooting victim laid to rest; city marks 1 week
Roberta Drury, a 32-year-old woman who was the youngest of the 10 Black people killed at a Buffalo supermarket, was remembered at her funeral Saturday for her love for family and friends, tenacity 'and most of all, that smile that could light up a room.'
The science behind why smoke seems to follow you around a campfire
Why does smoke seem to follow you around a campfire? B.C. research scientist Kerry Anderson told CTVNews.ca the answer actually boils down to physics.
Expert's tips on what to do if you're being carjacked amid rash of Toronto incidents
Some drivers in Toronto may be feeling on edge as Toronto is dealing with a rash of violent carjackings targeting mostly high-end vehicles.
A year of trauma, catharsis and finally peace for some survivors of Kamloops school
The nightmares started last May, said Harvey McLeod, chief of the Upper Nicola Indian Band and a survivor of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.