Life Cycle Stewardship of Agricultural Plastics
311 Kennedy Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853
A GRICULTURAL P LASTICS B ALERS : R ECOMMENDED S PECIFICATIONS
The purpose of compaction or baling used ag plastics is to optimize space and minimize transportation costs. These space and cost considerations matter when (i) moving waste plastic from the farm to off-site; (ii) storing the plastic in a staging area awaiting transport to a reprocessing facility; (iii) transporting it to the reprocessing facility; and (iv) warehousing the plastic in that facility.
The Recycling Ag Plastics Project (RAPP) has identified several generic types of compaction equipment and process options for transport of ag plastics (primarily ag films) from farm gate to reprocessing facilities. We consider (i) a modified garbage truck compactor, (ii) a modified vertical ram cardboard compactor, (iii) a mobile unit that operates in much the same way as the cardboard compactor, but that is specifically designed for agricultural films, and (iv) a unit designed for on-farm use that produces small, light-weight bales.
Our recommendations assume a “community-scale” of operation; i.e., possibly daily use by multiple operators under a range of conditions and with a full array of ag plastic products.
The pros and cons of these systems are discussed in terms of the following criteria:

Mobility

Durability

Power supply

Size and shape of bale

Performance functionality and efficiency

Safety
M OBILITY : For use in a regional ( e.g., county-wide) agricultural plastics recycling program, we recommend that the baler should be suitable for on-road transport as well as use in farm fields.
For security in transport, the baler unit should be integral to, or securely attached to, the wheeled transport unit; and should have a low center of gravity.
A mobile baler that can be transported from farm-to-farm or to other local collection spots has the potential for eliminating or reducing labor and travel time for farmers in disposing of their waste ag plastics.
We anticipate that the ease of on-farm pickup will significantly boost the “capture rate”— i.e., the percentage of plastics that are recycled—well beyond trials that rely on centralized collection. The mobility feature is particularly critical for New York State ag film collection programs because NYS farmers are currently allowed to burn or bury waste plastic on-farm and thus do not typically feel a strong “push” to move waste plastics from the farm to a central collection facility.
Moreover, and particularly in the early years of ag plastics recycling, quality control and education about Best Management Practices (BMPs)— i.e., how to maintain the plastic at a
Environmental Risk Analysis Program • Recycling Ag Plastics Project (RAPP) • Department of Communication • Cornell University
Lois Levitan, Ph.D., Program Leader, 311 Kennedy Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 • 607.255.4765 • lcl3@cornell.edu
David Cox, Extension Support Specialist, 22-26 Watkins Avenue, Oneonta, NY 13820 • 607.437.9794 • dgc23@cornell.edu
Funding from US EPA Region 2 P2 Program; New York Farm Viability Institute; Cornell Cooperative Extension (Hatch and Smith-Lever Funds);
Northeast Waste Management Officials Association (NEWMOA); with in-kind support from many others.
<environmentalrisk.cornell.edu/AgPlastics>

quality suitable for recycling—will likely be most effective when done on the farm.
Widespread adoption of BMPs is a critical step in boosting the capture rate for recycling.
The modified garbage truck compactor is, of course, mobile as an on-road vehicle, but would not be suitable for use on wet or rutted farm fields. We are not aware of any similar selfcontained units that are suitable for off-road use.
Several farmers have told us that they have adapted standard vertical compactors to be mobile when mounted to trailers or pickup beds and towed by standard 4x4 pickup trucks recommended for field operations. These units are suitable for on-farm use to varying degrees, depending upon their power source, center of gravity during transport, and maneuverability.
The BigFoot Baler, and its predecessor the Tiger Baler, were both designed specifically to be towed by the standard 4x4 farm pickup truck and maneuvered through farm fields to collect mulch film.
Anderson Equipment in Quebec was promoting a small, relatively inexpensive baler (<
$3000) designed specifically for bale wrap. RAPP received a brochure about this baler in
2007, but have been unable to determine if it is still available. The unit appears to be designed to be pulled behind some type of farm equipment for use in farm fields, but not onthe-road. It produces small bales—just 44 lb—so appears to be designed for relatively small farm operations in order to remove film from the field.
D
URABILITY
: The basic unit should be constructed from heavy duty steel, with all hydraulic lines made with heavy duty braided hoses and stainless steel connectors. Loose hydraulic lines, other than those designed for flexibility, should be secured to prevent unnecessary movement that could cause wear and tear on the hoses. Machines with few moving parts will minimize maintenance and avoid confusion/uncertainty during operation.
Lighter weight units, such as the Anderson Equipment baler, may be acceptable for occasional use on individual farms or for smaller bales, but we are assuming that a unit purchased for regional use will be subject to ongoing use under a range of conditions.
Our observations suggest that baler functionality requires the following moving parts, or equivalents: a vertical ram (plunger), a means for ejecting the bale ( i.e.,
“kicker feet”), secure door latches to assure a strong door seal during operation (triple latch recommended), “ears” or other means to avoid rebound and keep the plastic compressed when the ram is raised, security catch to prevent the ram from falling (see comments below re: safety features).
P
OWER
S
UPPLY
: For use in farm fields, away from an electric power source, we recommend a hydraulic power supply. The power should also be suitable for use in urbanized environments and within buildings ( e.g., at centralized collection facilities). For use in both situations, the baler could either be adapted to two sources of power, both electric and hydraulic, or it could use a dedicated hydraulic power supply that is not dependent on the hydraulic system of a farm tractor.
In 2006 we worked with an early iteration of the BigFoot™ baler that was designed to hook up to the hydraulic power supply of a farm tractor using a three-point hitch. In our experience, dairy farms and large vegetable producers will typically have tractors of sufficient HP to maneuver and power the baler, but greenhouse and nursery operations do
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not. In addition, the three-point hitch system precludes use of the baler in many off-farm locations. Therefore, we recommend a dedicated power supply for use in diverse environments.
S
IZE AND
S
HAPE OF
B
ALE
: 800-1500 lb. of film plastic, in a stackable square or rectangular bale, three to four feet (3’-4’) in each dimension.
Ideally, bales should be of a size such that one or two can be transported by a standard 4x4 pickup truck, and then loaded side-by-side and stacked two-high in a tractor trailer for long distance transport. Forty or more bales of the recommended size and shape will fit into the typical tractor trailer (45’ or 48’ long, 93”-99” wide, and 8.5’- 9’ high). Bales of the recommended size and shape optimize the load at approximately 40,000 lbs, i.e., at the permitted weight limit.
The modified garbage truck compactor bypasses the need for baling. This is a viable solution for collecting from a transfer station or other central location for transport to a reprocessing facility, but these trucks are not suitable for use in the fields. Think Plastics, Inc., a recycling and plastic lumber manufacturing company in Ontario, Canada, uses this system, and estimates that the compactor compresses the load to about 50% of its initial volume and that it can handle a 20,000 lb load. Think Plastics calculates that pickup is cost-effective within a
200-mile radius of their plant.
The Anderson Equipment baler makes bales of the right shape, but much smaller in size (44 lb). These bales are efficient for moving plastic in a pickup from the farm to a central collection location, but would need to be palletized and wrapped for efficient long distance transport.
Most vertical ram compactors that we have found in our web searches make bales that are considerably larger and heavier than the 800-1500 lb, apparently because compacted plastic is heavier than compacted cardboard. We have not fully investigated the array of options that may be available in smaller cardboard compactors.
The BigFoot bale bin is 4’ x 4’ x 4’. The bales we made in 2006 weighed between 800-1500 lb depending on final bale height ( i.e., maximum bale height is 4’, but bales can be smaller).
P ERFORMANCE F UNCTIONALITY AND E FFICIENCY : The baler should be able to compact properly prepared bundles of any type of agricultural film—as well as other film plastics, such as boat and car wrap—to about 10% of its bulk size, forming a full bale (800-1500 lb) in about 30 minutes.
Proper preparation involves cutting large sheets of film— e.g., greenhouse or bunker covers, and ag bags—to a size and weight that can be handled easily by one person.
The baler should have means to eject the bale onto the ground, so that it can be loaded onto a pickup truck or flatbed using a forklift or farm tractor bucket/forks.
The method for tying the bale should be sufficiently secure so that the bale can be maneuvered by the fork lift without the need for pallets.
Bales tied with baling wire while compacted (before the ram is released) form a secure bale that can be handled without pallets. However, if there is chance that the bale ties could be broken by rough handling by the loading equipment, the finished bale needs to
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be placed onto a pallet. The use of pallets complicates the baling process: the pallets must be trucked to the site and then the bale carefully lowered onto a small target (the pallet), rather than simply ejected on to the ground.
For a total ag plastics management program, a baler that can also compact rigid plastics— e.g., nursery pots and pesticide containers, planting trays, etc.—would be ideal.
We experimented with baling rigid plastics during the summer of 2006 and determined that stacked nursery containers have considerable rebound energy, but can be compressed to about 50% of the size of the initial stack and will form a coherent bale if bound with baling wire. We worked with a precursor to the current model of BigFoot baler, but the same issues would hold for any of the modified cardboard compactors. Small improvements to the system we observed— e.g., the addition of spring-loaded “ears” to hold down the pile when the plunger is raised—should improve performance efficiency in compressing rigid containers made of HDPE plastics.
S
AFETY
:
While there is always the possibility of unsafe operation, the following considerations have been recommended by the people we consulted with expertise in farm equipment and safety:
 The plunger lever must be manually controlled by the operator and held in the “down” position in order for the ram to descend and compact the plastic in the hopper. I.e., if the plunger lever is released, the lever should automatically return to a neutral position, the power should shut off, and the plunger should stop its descent.

The placement of the operating levers should be such that the operator has full view of everyone assisting in loading the baler, as well as full view of anyone else in close vicinity of the operation.

In the unlikely event of a breach in the hydraulic line while the ram (plunger) is in the raised position, a mechanism should be in place to prevent the ram from falling.
Mechanisms that have been suggested include: (i) A mechanical locking device to keep the plunger in place. (ii ) A check value (backflow device) in the hydraulic line(s) to prevent excess loss of fluid and thus prevent the plunger from dropping.
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The baler should have an operators’ manual, in English and Spanish (and/or other languages if needed by farmworkers in a given area), that fully describes operations and safety features. These operations should also be described graphically for users who do not read either English or Spanish.

Highly visible cautionary signs should be affixed to all sides of the baler container, with messages conveyed in universally understood symbols ( e.g., “stop” conveyed with one hand circled in red w/diagonal red slash), as well as written in Spanish and English.
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