They Turn Ag Plastic Into Sidewalks

They Turn Ag Plastic Into Sidewalks FARM HOME Miscellaneous Plastic bale wrap silage bags bunker covers row plastic high tunnels row hoop covers plastic twine netting mesh and seed bags More and more plastic is being used on farms and it’s starting to pile up That prompted a California company to come up with a new method to make plastic sidewalks out of all types of ag plastic Lindsay Smith is CEO and Founder of TERRECON Inc based in Fountain Valley Calif With 30 000 lbs of ag film her company can make 24 000 sq ft of TERREWALKS® The company has spent over two years working with plastic recyclers to overcome the challenges of processing plastic film Plastic is collected at no charge and shipped to plants in either Indiana or Missouri It’s a win/win option for farmers says Bill Findley who along with friend Ken Grigsby spearheaded a system that collects plastic from farmers in nine counties in Ohio: Carroll Columbiana Harrison Jefferson Tuscarawas Ashland Holmes Stark and Wayne With a grant to make brochures and get the word out to five counties they set up a system which continually evolved to make it more efficient — and they expanded into four more counties Big 50 cu ft sacks that were previously used to transport grain or seed are distributed to farms one for each different type of plastic Farmers pick them up at designated businesses On the farm they build frames to hold them open so they can be easily filled The main thing is to keep all the same color plastic in each sack The all-white plastic wrap is used for TERREWALKS sidewalks and must be separated in one bag Smith says The other important thing is to pack the bags so they have at least 400 lbs in them to make it economically feasible to transport them by semi-trailer to Indiana or Missouri for processing The process to manufacture TERREWALKS doesn’t require the plastic to be perfectly clean but it needs to be fairly clean and dry Findley says Instead of leaving the plastic whole farmers who store silage in plastic tubes cut off sections as they remove silage let it dry shake off excess dirt and throw it in a supersack “We’ve had very good participation ” Findley says Carroll County farmers filled 70 bags for a load this spring and have been given more bags to fill “We now have another of the original five counties Tuscarawas ready to ship the second semi trailer load over 100 super sacks Having a couple of committed businesses in each of the counties that have loading docks and can store the bags has been crucial to the success of the project in Ohio ” Findley says Other states such as Wisconsin and Indiana have set up systems that fit their regions Smith adds “There are so many farmers and groups who want to be involved in this ” she says “Our goal is to make it easy for them and solve a problem for them ” To make transportation less expensive and more efficient she recommends setting up a collection point in conjunction with a facility that has a horizontal baler whenever possible Instead of baling individual pieces of plastic the sacks are compressed and baled which is much faster and cleaner They are also easier to take apart when it’s time for processing Smith suggests contacting Soil and Water Conservation Districts state Agriculture Departments and universities farm organizations and other groups for grants and assistance to start a local program TERREWALK walkways last longer than concrete and never break or crack Beginning in July the black and white plastic will also be processed into pelletized resin for use in other LDPE plastic products For details on how to collect ag plastic in your area contact Smith As this issue went to press TERRECON announced a new partnership with DCO Environmental & Recycling LLC to collect waste plastics from dairy farms across the country for processing at DCO facilities nationwide Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lindsay Smith TERRECON Inc 10061 Talbert Ave 200 Fountain Valley Calif 92708 ph 714 964-1400; www terrecon com; lindsay@terrecon com

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