“Farmers need to realize that their waste irrigation plastics are a resource and are sought after by the recycling community. If they can source separate irrigation tape and tubing from other ag plastics, they will increase the value of their plastic and actually get paid for it.”


— Gene Jones, executive director, Southern Waste Information eXchange Inc., and founder,


Agricultural Plastics Recycling Conference and Trade


Show, recently held in San Diego, California, Aug. 23 – 25, 2017


Used drip tape is piled and ready for recycling. Photo credit: The Toro Company


including drip tape, mulch film, silage bags, greenhouse film and grain covers. The company also recycles cow silage plastic in Wisconsin through a 4,000-dumpster collection process. In 2014, the recycling program surpassed the one billion pounds of waste material recycled milestone. Today, the company has recycled over 1.5 billion pounds of material.


A plastics recycling program is an important part of a mission to preserve the farmland. The used polytubing would otherwise be dumped in landfills, burned, buried or stacked in unsightly piles on the farm.


The success of these types of recycling programs comes through a strong partnership with growers willing to remove this plastic and recycle it into useful products used across the country. Partnering with growers and industry leaders to protect our environment is crucial for the future of farming and the irrigation industry.


The Toro Drip Irrigation Recycling Service was recognized at the 2016 Irrigation Show and Education Conference as winner of the 2016 New Product Contest in specialty agriculture.


Additional information about agricultural plastics recycling is available through the Recycling Agricultural Plastics Program at


www.recycleagplastics.css.cals. cornell.edu/agplastics-2.htm


Grapple-hook trucks pick up used polytubing that is rolled and ready for recycling. Photo credit: Delta Plastics


Inge Bisconer, CID, CLIA, is the technical marketing and sales manager for Toro Micro-Irrigation in El Cajon, California. She is a long-time supporter of


the IA and was honored with the 2016 IA Industry Achievement Award for her contributions to the development of the irrigation industry.


Dhu Thompson is the owner and chairman of Delta Plastics. He is also the founder and chairman of


Revolution Bag and U.S. Irrigation. Thompson possesses a constant drive to help preserve our country’s natural


resources and currently serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Nature Conservancy.


RAPP is a program created by the Cornell University Waste Management Institute in Ithaca, New York. The site provides educational resources and information about recycling agriculture plastics, including irrigation plastic materials.


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