Farmlands stores are becoming home to Agrecovery Small Bags  Product Stewardship Scheme.

We’re joining the leaders in providing sustainable solutions for used soft plastics – LDPE (# 4)  and woven PP (# 5) -  which is what many farm product bags are made of. Once they’re empty, they’re simply disposed of – by being dumped in landfill, where they slowly break down and release chemicals into our soil and water.

We want to start the journey now towards a more circular economy and a more sustainable way of operating – and a big part of this is helping make recycling options available to farmers and growers across Aotearoa as soon as possible. 

Farmlands is joining Agrecovery’s Small Bags Product Stewardship Scheme as early as possible, to help make plastic bag managers accountable for their products. 

From July 2023, you’ll find Agrecovery cages for the recycling of small (under 25kg) plastic bags being rolled out across the country to 71 of our stores.

This means you’ll be able to drop off your empty, cleaned-out Farmlands product bags for recycling, as well as bags from other manufacturers taking part in the scheme.  

Register with Agrecovery now to become part of the solution to soft plastic pollution. It’s free and quick to sign up.  

How can I take part?   

1. Register: Visit Agrecovery’s website and register as an Agrecovery member. 

2. Order your free liner: Your Woven PP and LDPE bags must be stored separately in specific colour-coded Agrecovery liners. Order your free liners here or phone Agrecovery 0800 247 326.  

3. Participating Brands: We can only accept bags from brands who have chosen to join the scheme. These brands pay a voluntary levy which enables Agrecovery to collect and recycle their bags. This includes Reliance, NRM and McMillan branded bags. For a full list of participating brands please refer to the Agrecovery website here.

4. Ensure the tops of your bags have been fully opened: Fully remove the string or cut along the top of the bags to easily remove any excess residue.

5. Give Bags a good shake: Ensure bags are clean and free of residue, dirt and other organic contamination.

6. Pack clean and empty bags in the Agrecovery liner supplied: Full liners should fit between 60-75 Woven PP bags or 100 LDPE bags. Ensure nothing else is placed in the liners or they won't be accepted.

7. When full, seal the liner with the coded zip tie supplied: Your liners will be sent to you with coded zip ties. These unique coded allow collection sites to record your recycling in your Agrecovery account. Store full liners in a dry, shaded location. Liners should not be stored for longer than six months. 

8. Drop your full liners off at the nearest collection site: There are 200+ fixed collection sites across New Zealand. Liners will be inspected by site staff to ensure all acceptance criteria has been met. You can find a list of Farmlands participating stores and their drop-off hours below or by contacting our customer service team or by heading here.  

Agrecovery - a leading product stewardship organisation – have been looking for organisations to join their bag recycling programme, to get it off to a strong start.

We thought that this programme was just the kind of direct, tangible action that’ll start making a difference immediately. By signing up early, we’re helping to establish the scheme and ensure that effective pathways for plastics recycling are created. It’s really important to us that we play a key role in leading the way towards more sustainable practices across the whole industry, and this is something we can definitely help with.

Farmlands has already been working with Agrecovery to help Kiwi farmers and growers recycle their hard plastic containers at 23 of our stores across the country. Currently, we’re the largest provider of Agrecovery recycling collection sites across Aotearoa. 

What’s been happening to all the feed, seed, and fertiliser bags?   

Millions of tonnes of plastic packaging enter the environment every year, which includes the millions of woven PP and LPDE feed, seed, and fertiliser bags produced and used around the world.   

Currently only about 1% of these materials make it to recycling centres worldwide — and the majority of PP/LPDE ends up in landfill, where it can have a significant environmental impact.   

By making a commitment to find new uses for these plastics, we’re helping to make sure they don’t end up in the ground, contaminating our soil and water.  

If you have any questions about the Farmlands-Agrecovery partnership or need more information on how to participate, get in touch with Agrecovery on: Freephone: 0800 247 326 or email: info@agrecovery.org.nz