this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2023
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It's probably one of those things we need government intervention to have recycling paid for up front, like has been suggested for TVs. Then you can make collection and recycling free, to encourage it.
Just had a look. 85% of it was being recycled last year. So it's just that our neighbours are the useless ones. And the government's going to start requiring that all farm plastics are covered by a stewardship scheme to recycle them.
Still, it seems like a government program could be so much more efficient than the current system of calling someone to have them come and pick it up from the middle of nowhere then take it back. You could have one rubbish truck with a compactor move to a different area every day and pick it up everyone's wrap in one go.
Long-term we need something better than plastic for silage wrap. People have been working on it but no one can do it at scale yet. When that happens, we need to make sure that's cheaper/easier than the plastic stuff.
Oh that's good to see!
The problem is you need something that will not break down. Maybe the solution is to eeplace silage rather than the wrapping. Perhaps you use something that only breaks down in commercial composting, but silage can get very warm so that still may not be enough to prevent it breaking down in the paddock or shed.
Some Canadian researchers have actually made something out of corn proteins that they say works. They just don't know how to scale up production. No idea how it can be both biodegradable and withstand the fermentation process and outdoor conditions.
That's cool! I guess you need something that takes a medium time to break down, but when it does, it breaks down to organics rather than microplastics.