Recycling Agricultural Plastics
in New Jersey
The Garden State
Recycling In Cumberland County
 The Cumberland County
Improvement Authority is
the solid waste
implementing agency for
Cumberland County
 Cumberland County has
the highest overall
recycling rate in New
Jersey
 Building partnerships with
the Agricultural
Community
Partnerships and Convenience
 Building Partnerships
 Convenience
 South Jersey Location
 Operations at Solid
Waste Complex
 Support of Agricultural
Community
Types of Agricultural Plastics
 Nursery and Greenhouse Film
 Mixed Ridged Plastics
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Pesticide containers
Up to 55 gallon drums (HDPE #2)
Bulb crates
Food processing buckets
 Mulch Film, Drip Tape, Silage Bags, Peat
Moss Bags
 Nursery pots, cell packs, flats, and plug trays
Nursery and Greenhouse Film
 1997 pilot project start with a $25,000 grant
from NJ Department of Agriculture
 On site single ram baler first year of program
 Program expanded to partner with local
recycler to bale the material off site
Nursery and Greenhouse Film
 In New Jersey the average farm is 81 acres
 1 million pounds of nursery and greenhouse film is
used by New Jersey growers
 Recycling charges in New Jersey are $20 to $25 per
ton
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This allows both large and small growers to recycle
Solid waste haulers can transport the material to the
solid waste complex in roll off containers or growers
can transport it on their own without a DEP solid waste
registration
This is a year round program
Nursery Film Recycled in New Jersey
Tonnage collected at CCIA vs. total state-wide
tonnages
400
350
300
250
CCIA
New Jersey
200
150
100
50
0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Nursery Film Recycle in New Jersey
 Over 4 million pounds of film has been recycled in
New Jersey since the program started in 1997
 As the value of the recycled material increased Growers took advantage of more options available to
them
 2004-2006 – More growers baled and marketed their
own material
$20,000
$15,000
Gross Reciepts From
Sale of Nursery Film
Collected By The
CCIA
$10,000
$5,000
$0
1998-03
2004
2005
Nursery Film Trends
 46 acres of 4 mil film equals one tractor trailer load
 Increases in the value of plastic film has changed the
recycling landscape
 2004-2005 – Growers marketed over 250 tons of
material on their own – Valued up to $35,000
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Big Foot Plastic baler
Tiger baler
Hay baler
Nursery Film Trends
 Recycling Costs and Savings
 Baling costs range between $40 to $60 per ton
 Transportation and handling charges
 Disposal rates in New Jersey range from $55 to $100
per ton
 By recycling growers save on avoided disposal fees
Recycling Markets
Poly America utilizes nursery film into Husky
Yard Bags
Bill Neal
Poly-America
(817) 404-7719
billn@poly-america.com
www.poly-america.com
Pesticide Container Recycling
 Partnership with Ag Container Recycling Council
www.acrecycle.org
The program evolved from once a year event to monthly
collections from May to November
Karen Kritz, New Jersey Department of Agriculture
Pesticide license holders receive one core credit from the NJDEP
for participating in the program
Participation levels and the volume of containers
collected has increased annually since 2002
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Mulch Film and Drip Tape
 Lessons Learned
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Markets conditions change
Never count on one vendor
Export markets – Dirt is a big factor
 9,000 acres of mulch film in three South Jersey Counties
 1 acre generates 580 pounds of mulch film
 Year round collection
Mulch Film and Drip Tape
 With the best efforts from growers – contamination was still
an issue
 Growers respond - Over 300 tons collected in 2005-2006
 Grant from NJDEP helped cushion the fall
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Covered baling costs
Purchase of concrete retaining walls
Outreach literature
Processing equipment
Mulch Film and Drip Tape
 2006-2007 program has been modified to recycle drip
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tape only
Drip tape – Melt index (flow rate) = .2
Density (weight of material relative to water)
Water = 1
Drip tape density = .943 – Material will float (material
has carbon black)
Possible Recycling Markets – plastic pipes, slip
sheets (between pallets), blended to make nursery
pots
Nursery Pots–Plug Trays–Flats–Cell Packs
Recycling Opportunities
 NJ Department of Agriculture established a recycling outlet
for nursery pots, plastic flats, trays, and cell packs
 Recycled directly by the grower
 How to prepare the material
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Keep like plastics segregated on separate pallets
Farmers willing to segregate the different types of plastics will
receive a preferred price for the plastic
Some plastic recyclers will pick up half or full trailer loads of
material or growers can combine loads with other farmers in
the same area
The Department of Agriculture maintains an active list of
vendors who wish to be included in a nursery pot recycling
program
http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/md/prog/recycling.html
Steve Wasserman
Cindarn Recycling
16154 Trenton Road
Upperco, Md. 21155
410-374-2196
Education and Communication is
Essential
 Nursery and Greenhouse Film Bundling
Procedure
Education & Communication is
Essential
 Brochure and laminated guidelines for recycling
agricultural plastic – Spanish translation included
How Can You Get A Program Started?
 Farmers are willing to go the distance to recycle
 Farmers can understand the economics of cost
avoidance
 Communications and support is critical to your
success
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Support at the State, County, and Municipal levels
Attend County Board of Agriculture meetings
Agricultural trade organizations
Take advantage of your extension service agents
Take advantage of farm related publications
 Talk to your farming community about recycling
cardboard and metal
 Plastics will continue to play a larger role in
agricultural operations
Contact Information
Dennis DeMatte, Jr.
Cumberland County Improvement Authority
2 North High Street
Millville, New Jersey 08332
Phone: 856-825-3700
Fax: 856-825-8121
Website: www.ccia-net.com
Email: ddematte@ccia-net.com
Karen Kritz
NJ Department of Agriculture
John Fitch Plaza, PO Box 330
Trenton, NJ 08625-0330
Phone: 609-984-2506
Fax: 609-341-3212
Email: karen.kritz@ag.state.nj.us