A pilot on the NSW Mid North Coast is turning one of agriculture’s persistent waste problems into something farmers can use: fence posts and agricultural pipe.
The pilot brings together recycler iQRenew, Macka’s Australian Black Angus Beef, Macleay Valley Farmers and Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast (RDAMNC), with farmers collecting silage wrap across the MidCoast and Kempsey local government areas.
Thousands of tonnes of silage wrap enter the Australian market each year. With few established recycling pathways available to farmers, much of the used plastic ends up burned, buried or in landfill.
The Mid North Coast project is testing a different approach.
From farm waste to farm infrastructure
Farmers collect and stockpile used silage wrap before it travels to iQRenew’s Circular Manufacturing Precinct at Kundle Kundle, near Taree. There, iQRenew processes the plastic into products including fence posts and agricultural pipe.
The partners plan to tackle plastic agricultural drums next.
iQRenew general manager Graham Knowles says the company wants to use its soft-plastics recycling experience to tackle waste generated by the agricultural sector.
“Having processed all the National REDcycle Legacy of Post Consumer soft plastic, iQRenew now wants to work with the farming community and convert the next problem waste stream (Silage Wrap) into new products every farmer needs, fence posts and pipes,” Knowles says.
Robert Mackenzie of Macka’s Beef leads the collection effort in the MidCoast Council area.
Macka’s pastoral operation, based around Gloucester on the Mid North Coast, has achieved carbon neutrality from paddock to gate and focuses on practical measures to reduce its environmental footprint.
For Mackenzie, converting discarded farm plastic into products farmers can use again makes practical sense.
“These products won’t rot, won’t burn and are built to last for generations,” he says.
“A great example of what can be achieved when agriculture, recycling and government work together towards practical sustainability.”
In Kempsey Shire, Tony James coordinates the diversion and stockpiling of silage wrap from local farms, while Kempsey Shire Council supports collection and transport logistics.
Working across two council areas also allows the project to test one of the central challenges of agricultural recycling: how to collect relatively small volumes of waste from dispersed properties and consolidate enough material to make processing viable.
From left: Robert Mackenzie, Macka’s Group; Graham Knowles, iQRenew; Madeleine Lawler, Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast.
A model for other agricultural plastics
RDAMNC chief executive Dr Madeleine Lawler says collaboration between farmers, industry and regional organisations sits at the heart of the pilot.
“This pilot shows what’s possible when industry, farmers and regional partners work together on practical, place-based solutions to waste,” Dr Lawler says.
For farmers, the project offers a low-cost alternative to landfill or on-farm disposal while keeping a difficult material in productive use for longer.
The pilot could also provide a model for tackling other agricultural plastics if the collection and processing system proves viable.
The partners now plan to expand collection across the Mid North Coast and trial the recycling of plastic drums.
They are inviting more farmers, councils and industry organisations to become involved as the program grows.
To learn more, contact RDAMNC.
Images: Courtesy of RDAMNC
