Plastic bale wrap used to store livestock feed, such as silage, is collected for recycling through a Cleanfarms pilot program. | Photo courtesy of Cleanfarms
2023 was a record-breaking collection year for Canadian ag recycling nonprofit Cleanfarms.
According to its annual report, the organization collected 5.2 million pounds of small agricultural plastic containers in 2023, a 16% increase over the previous year and an annual record.
Other new records were in non-deposit bulk containers, such as drums and totes, which rose 21% to 89,300 units, and seed, pesticide and inoculant bags, which rose 43% to 1.8 million pounds.
Along with those country-wide collection numbers, Cleanfarms reported it collected 3.2 million pounds of ag film and twine in Quebec and 3.4 million pounds of grain bags and 48,000 pounds of plastic baler twine in Saskatchewan.
“Canada continues to be among the top-ten percent of countries in terms of recovery rates for agricultural waste and we continue to strive for more,” the report noted. “Collectively, our year-long efforts showcased in this report, our longer-term commitments, as well as our continued partnerships means Cleanfarms continues to make significant contributions towards achieving a zero-waste future for Canadian agriculture … and for all citizens.”