Working with several retailers, food processors and local authorities, the recycling plant is developing a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to landfill for such problematic waste plastics.

Visit the Recycling in Action website to find out more about this material diversification and the Innovation hub.

A member of the FarmPlas Network, Somerset FWAG sets up collection centres where farmers can bring their farm plastic waste. From here it is taken to the Integrated Polymers recycling plant in Wales where it is reprocessed and fed back into UK manufacturing.

FWAG’s government aided scheme has been running successfully for three years now and sees an average of 30 farmers attending each collection day, each bringing around 1 tonne of farm plastic waste. This year 500-700 tonnes of farm plastic waste will have been collected and recycled from the Somerset area.

The grant funding for the scheme is ending this year and the FarmPlas Network has been working with FWAG to ensure similar collection days can still be offered to farmers in the area.

If you’d like more information about arranging collection days in your area please get in touch.

The regulations affect whether or not you can burn, bury, store, use your waste on the farm or send it elsewhere.

You need to stop using your farm tip/dump before the 15 May 2006 and you should also stop burning plastics and other materials that give rise to pollution and/or harm by that date. You will also have a Duty of Care when storing or passing your waste onto someone else.

The FarmPlas Network is a simple solution to your farm plastic waste. We will collect and recycle all your plastic and provide all the relevant documentation to support your Duty of Care. Get in touch now and see how we can help.

For further information on the new regulations visit the Environment Agency website.

The new multi-million pound plant accepts farm plastic directly from collection schemes. Here it is washed of all contamination and recycled into plastic pellets. These plastic pellets are then used in the manufacture of farm film and other plastic products.

This new recycling technology underpins the sustainable nature of the FarmPlas Network, which has been established as a simple and environmentally acceptable solution for farmers dealing with contaminated farm plastics nationwide.

The FarmPlas Network brings together regional collection schemes to share best practice and to establish a cost-effective, high quality service for farmers nationwide.

With just one phone call to the FarmPlas hotline farmers will be given the details of their nearest collection scheme. All farm plastics can be collected. For example, silage wrap (separated from netting and string), silage sheeting, crop film, polytunnel film, feed bags, fertilizer bags, bottles and containers. Each collection scheme will be able to advise on how to store the plastic and provide a cost for collection.

As many of the collection schemes are farm-based there is a real understanding of the issues farmers face. FarmPlas is now intending to increase its network to incorporate more UK farms. Hannah Kendall, spokeswoman for the organisation said: “Although this is a national network the schemes are local and it is our job to help farmers get in touch with their nearest scheme. In areas where a scheme is not already up and running, we will encourage interested farmers to start schemes and join the network themselves,” she added.