Farmers need help to win the on farm plastics battle says Binn Group chief executive
BINN Group chief executive Allan MacGregor outlines the importance of recycling in agriculture.
Plastics represent the single biggest waste management challenge facing the Scottish agricultural sector. Over time, the use of plastics has become commonplace across so many aspects of farming and are found in everyday products such as silage wrap, chemical drums and packaging for fertiliser and seed bags.
Farmers have had little choice but to use more and more plastics, and it has created a significant waste issue for them. Estimates suggest that UK farms produced over 135,000t of contaminated agricultural plastic waste in 2022, the weight equivalent of 900 adult blue whales.
Legislation aimed at controlling their environmental impact has meant that farmers must increasingly find innovative means to rationalise the use of plastics and ensure that, where possible, they reduce, reuse or recycle them.
Regulations introduced in Scotland in 2005 allow waste plastic to be stored on a farm for a maximum of 12 months and they require farmers to keep accurate records showing evidence that farm waste, including plastics, has been handled correctly. These rules also made it illegal to burn farm plastics, although, partly due to their low value, this practice has continued across some parts of the sector.
While legislative measures are all well-intended with objectives that are supported across the agricultural sector, they do place a significant financial and administrative burden on many hard-pressed farmers.
While there are associated costs to this, Scottish Government regulations requiring farmers to use an authorised and reputable waste management business to arrange collection and recycling of plastic, and other waste are sensible. By bringing in the experts, farmers are in a far better position to stay compliant with the ever-changing regulatory regime. This approach also removes a lot of the burden in managing the challenges of plastic and other waste materials form farmer’s workload.
As an active farmer myself, with over 200 suckler cows and 400 breeding ewes, Binn Group brings a deep level of understanding and empathy in the work we do across the agricultural sector. We provide a comprehensive waste collection and recycling service for all agricultural waste including plastic and polythene from polytunnels, silage wrap, old tyres, fertiliser bags, and feed product bags.
One of our agriculture customers, Allanhill
Farm near St Andrews, oers an example of the comprehensive work we do within the sector. Binn Group has provided
recycling and waste management services to the farm for over 15 years, collecting general waste, mixed recycling, glass, and food waste from the sta campsite, which accommodates up to 500 workers during the peak harvest season. Farm waste is also collected for recycling, including
polythene wrap from polytunnels and strawberry beds, cardboard packaging, and scrap metal.
Producers of so fruit and cereals, including 1700t of strawberries each year, Allanhill has significantly lowered its use of pesticides, planted nearly three acres of woodland, and dedicated two fields with a special mix of plants to help attract and nourish bees.
Our waste management support has been a key aspect enabling the farm to enhance its strong environmental credentials and remain fully compliant with legislative requirements.
Binn Group’s latest major project, the building of a new Energy from
Waste facility, due to be operational in 2026, will further support the agricultural sector by creating this plant which converts residual waste into energy.
As the only Scottish company to hold the nationally recognised standard PAS 402 certification, we further demonstrate our strong commitment towards sound practices in managing waste. This should provide reassurance to Scottish farmers who are seeking a partner to help them manage the ever-growing waste challenge.