Rural recycling receives a boost
Mangatoki farmers Keith and Dawn Benefield were pleased to be rid of a tandem trailer-load of chemical containers at a free collection day in Stratford this week.
They were among the farmers and contractors dropping off a variety of rural waste – enough to fill several trucks – during three collection days to help rural Taranaki communities recycle.
Collections were held in New Plymouth, Stratford and Ha¯ wera, with people delivering plastic barrels and containers, fertiliser and feed sacks, unwanted chemicals and waste oil.
It was the first time the collection had been offered in Taranaki, Felicity Mitchell, operations advisor for Agrecovery said.
Agrecovery is a national, not-for-profit charitable trust set up by the industry to provide a sustainable solution for agrichemicals and their packaging. Participating manufacturers pay a levy so that their containers can be picked up and recycled at no charge to the customer.
The Taranaki collections were a trial to assess demand, she said. The four Taranaki councils had contributed funding to cover the costs of collecting containers and chemicals from non-participating manufacturers. The plastic from the drums and containers would be shredded, washed and recycled into pellets that could be made into underground cabling covering and plastic board.
‘‘It’s all recycled in New Zealand,’’ she said.
The events are part of the New Zealand Rural Waste Minimisation Project, which aims to preserve the environment by finding ways for rural communities to better manage on-farm waste.
‘‘All these old chemicals have been sitting in people’s sheds, or contaminating the ground and getting into the environment, which we don’t want to see,’’ said Stratford District Council waste minimisation officer Louise Campbell, who attended the collection at Stratford on Tuesday.
‘‘Having this service is good for farmers. We hope more will come in next time, once word gets out.’’