Recycling Ag Plastics Project (RAPP)
Life-Cycle Stewardship of Agricultural Plastics
Developing infrastructure and markets for waste film
and rigid plastics from dairy, livestock & horticulture.
DISPOSABLE AGRICULTURAL PLASTICS INCLUDE:
Dairy Bags & Bunker Silo Covers, Bale Wrap & Bale Netting, Polytwine, Feed & Seed Bags, Irrigation Drip Tape, Maple Syrup Tubing, Greenhouse & Hoophouse Covers, Nursery Trays & Pots, Mulch & Fumigation Film, Tarps, Bird Netting, Containers for Pesticides & Dairy Sanitizers, Bags for Potting Mix & Fertilizer, Bee Hives
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)
BMPs for DAIRY, LIVESTOCK, FEED CROPS
BMPs for HORTICULTURE
NEWS:
Ag Film Baling Tour - Upstate New York 2006
Demonstrating Baling Equipment & Best Management Practices (BMPs), August 7-10, 2006
[Baling Tour Home] [Press Release] [Background Story] [Photos] [Tri-Fold Flier (1.2MB pdf)] [Poster (800KB pdf)] [Schedule & Directions]
The Recycling Ag Plastics Project (RAPP) has organized an Upstate NY Tour of the "Big Foot" - a mobile baler designed for agricultural films. Targeted to the recycling and agricultural communities, the Tour will feature baling equipment, Best Management Practices for handling used films, and information about recycling markets.
The Ag Film Baling Tour begins 10am Monday, August 7, in Otsego County, at Cooperstown Holstein, Inc., Route 33, Phoenix Mills (just south of Cooperstown). Next stop is 2pm at Frazier's Greenhouse, 790 Southside Drive in Oneonta. There will be ongoing demonstrations Tuesday and Wednesday, August 8th and 9th, at Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls (demo site # 129). Then to the Eastern Finger Lakes on Thursday, August 10: 10am at Baker's Acres, 1104 Auburn Rd, State Rt. 34, Groton (Tompkins County) and 3pm at Iron Kettle Farm, 707 Owego Road, Rt 96, Candor (Tioga County). [schedule]
Questions? See the RAPP website for tour details and additional information about ag plastics recycling: http://environmentalrisk.cornell.edu/AgPlastics/BigFootTour2006. Or contact: Lois Levitan, Cornell University Environmental Risk Analysis Program (607-255-4765, lcl3@cornell.edu); David Cox, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Otsego County (607-547-2536 ext. 226, dgc23@cornell.edu); Martha B. Clarvoe, Otsego County Conservation Association (607-547-4020, martha.clarvoe@gmail.com).
For information specifically about the "Big Foot Baler," speak with the man who developed it - Dennis Sutton - during the Tour, or contact him at 941-761-8293 (dennis44@tampabay.rr.com).
The Recycling Ag Plastics Project is led by the Cornell University Environmental Risk Analysis Program in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations, the Otsego County Conservation Association (OCCA), Tompkins County Recycling and Solid Waste, New York Center for Agricultural Health and Medicine (NYCAHM), Arrowchase Inc., and others.
Help make ag plastics recycling a reality in NY State!
Media Coverage
Articles in the popular press about RAPP, the ag plastics problem and solutions.
Go to Media page. See also the Recycling Agricultural Plastics Bibliography [Go ]
- Used Silo Bags: What To Do With Them. June 2006. Tina Wright. Hoard's Dairyman: The National Dairy Farm Magazine. Page 426. [Intro] [Full text pdf]
- Cornell Scientist Works on Recycling Options to Stop Farm Plastics from Polluting Air, Water and Food. May 2, 2006. Susan S. Lang. Cornell News Service [Full Text]
- Plant Specializes in Recycling Ag Plastics. Capital Press Agriculture Weekly [go to Capital Press] [Intro]
- In Rural Areas, the Heat Is on Over Practice of Trash Burning. March 7, 2005. Lisa W. Foderaro. New York Times. [go to NY Times]
- Groups Working to Recycle Plastic Used by Farmers. January 8, 2005. Mark Boshnack. Daily Star (Oneonta, NY). [Full text]
- Plastics recycling - a new departure: Jim Garthe's plastic recycling system can turn a menace into an employment opportunity for millions. [Go]
Reports and Presentations
Agricultural Plastic Film Recycling:
Feasibility and Options in the Central Leatherstocking-Upper Catskill Region of New York State
Lois C. Levitan, David G. Cox, and Martha B. Clarvoe. January 2005. Cornell University,
Environmental Risk Analysis Program: Ithaca, New York. ERAP 05-001. 83 pages.
[1.8 MB PDF] [Table of Contents] [Fig 1: Life Cycle of Dairy Films]
Working document to support development of an agricultural film recycling program in Central New York. We focus on dairy films, describing their life cycle from use on the farm to wrap or cover animal feed through various options for off-farm disposal. Steps in the recycling process are detailed, from the collection of used films through manufacture of new end-products. We assess the technical and economic feasibility of recycling these dairy film plastics and the community infrastructure needed to get a recycling program off-the-ground.
Use and Disposal of Agricultural Plastics
Lois Levitan. March 10, 2004. Testimony prepared for the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation, Legislative Commission on Toxic Substances and Hazardous Waste, & Legislative Commission on Solid Waste Management public hearing on the "Prohibition of Open Burning of Solid Waste in New York State." [3 page PDF].
Recycling Agricultural Plastics in New York State
Lois Levitan and Ana Barros. March 11, 2003. Cornell University,
Environmental Risk Analysis Program: Ithaca, New York. ERAP 03-001. 30 pages.
Recycling Agricultural Plastics in New York State surveys recycling options for many types of plastics used in agriculture, including pesticide and nursery containers, seedling trays, mulch and fumigation films, greenhouse covers, dairy bags, twines, etc. It addresses concerns about the environmental health effects and other liabilities of burning, burying, or dumping plastic wastes on farms. The report identifies: major uses of plastics on NYS farms; recycling and energy recovery technologies that are currently viable or that may be realistic in the near future; technical and infrastructural issues; and processes, agencies, and individuals involved. Research was supported by Smith-Lever funds awarded by Cornell Cooperative Extension.
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Full Report - 728KB PDF Report (no figures) - 457KB MS Word Executive Summary - 29KB MS Word Press Release - 27KB PDF |
Figure 1 - 168KB PDF | Figure 2 - 161KB PDF | Figure 3 - 220KB PDF |
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Figure 1. Schematic of the Issue: Burning Agricultural Plastic & Household Waste |
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Presentation Slides
OVERVIEW - Recycling Agricultural Plastics: Creating Viable Alternatives to Open Burning and Dumping. October 2006. Presented to the Northeast Waste Management Officials Association (NEWMOA), Workshop on Agricultural Plastics [15.9 MB pps slideshow] [Handout of slides] [Text for slideshow]
This slideset illustrates the many uses of disposable plastics in agriculture and the lifecycle of agricultural plastics.
Recycling Agricultural Plastics: Creating a Viable Alternative to Open Burning and Dumping [11.6 MB slide notes, pdf]
Revised from a presentation at Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension, Feb 2006, Ithaca, New York. Contact the author for slide set.
Plastics Stewardship, Panel Presentation: Open Burning of Agricultural Plastics (Including Pesticide Containers): What's the Problem and How to Solve It? [Handout]
Presented February 2006 at The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) Annual Conference, Austin, Texas.
Recycling Agricultural Plastics: How CCE Educators Can Help Make it Possible in New York State [Handout]
Presented October 17, 2003 at the ACCEE (Association of Cornell Cooperative Extension Employees) meeting, Kerhonkson, New York.
Alternatives to Burning, Burying, & Dumping: Reprocessing Options for Used Agricultural Plastics [Handout]
Presented October 20, 2003 at the National Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (NPSA) meetings in Tucson, Arizona [proceedings].
Resources
Bibliography: Agricultural Plastics Recycling and Disposal
This bibliography includes references from ERAP research reports on the use and disposal of agriculture plastics, as well as some additional resource materials. �Full bibliographic information is given in the first column, followed in column two by the "in-text citation" used in the reports.
Contacts, Resources and Media Coverage
See the Contacts and Resources list, references to other businesses, organizations and individuals in ERAP reports, transcripts of media coverage, and the Agricultural Plastics Photo Gallery.
