Supply sources of plastic wrapping to be inspected

INSPECTIONS by the Department of Industry and Trade to determine the supply source of plastic wrapping for silage are likely, as more and more material is used from manufacturers who do not contribute to the cost of collection and recycling.

Irish farmers pay a levy on silage wrap to finance its collection and recycling, which is “free of charge” to farmers.

With burning of plastic on farms prohibited, the collection system was introduced to resolve the problem of used plastic becoming an environmental hazard in the countryside.

The National Farm Relief Service, which currently holds the contract for collection of waste plastic from farms, collected more than 10,000 tonnes over the past year.

But they have now become aware of an increasing volume of plastic being used around the country, but particularly in the border counties, which is believed to come from sources which are not collecting the levy for disposal of the plastic.

A spokesperson for the National Farm Relief Service said that there is no way of telling this when the used wrapping is presented for collection on the farm.

“We are aware that some suppliers of wrap and some contractors use wrapping on which the levy is not being collected, and it is something that is now causing a lot more concern and it is unfair to the majority of farmers who are paying the levy“.

He said Department of Industry and Trade officials have the power to inspect documentation at suppliers which should show if the levy has been collected, and they could also request the production of documentation from those purchasing from wholesale suppliers.

It is likely these inspections will increase in order to root out the growing threat to the farm plastic recycling effort.