News on the Pilot With AgriRÉCUP!

In the last couple of months, a pilot project was launched with AgriRÉCUP, which might lead to an ongoing program based on the recovery and recycling of agricultural plastics in Québec, such as dandruff, silage tarps, silo bags, and hay bale twine. The goals of the pilot are to test logistics and communications, but also to better understand the costs related to recovering and recycling agricultural plastics in order to continue the process with recyclers and determine the best collection methods for the province of Québec.

Since our network has a strong presence in the different areas of Québec and exists to assist local farmers, BMR was committed to take part in the project and to be part of the solution.

Now that the pilot is well underway, we wanted to know how things were progressing on site and get feedback from the participants. So, we met with Serge Gervais, who is in charge of two collection points used in the pilot: Ste-Martine BMR Express Uniag Cooperative and Saint-Polycarpe Agrizone Uniag Cooperative.

Uniag Cooperative felt they should take part in the pilot. Mr. Gervais considers that it is normal and desirable that BMR offer producers the opportunity to properly dispose of agricultural plastics, as most products are mainly bought from us. We asked him a few questions about the process on site:

Are producers involved in the project?

We currently have about 25 producers for both sites, which is great since this is only a pilot!

Do you have any issues with the collection points?

So far, I must say that it’s going pretty well. There are requirements for collecting products: the sorting of materials is very important and they must be clean to be recovered. Thankfully, they are! People who come here are already aware of the situation, so they are careful about the plastics they bring. The collection point management does not take too much time, and people are respectful.

Are you proud to take part in this pilot?

Yes. As a citizen, far beyond being part of BMR and a cooperative, I know how important it is for the new generation that is already aware of waste as an issue. We all have a part to play! The collection point facility is not too expensive and very easy to use. All people have to do is to tell farmers about this project and how it works to avoid contamination. The more people know about it, the more aware they will be, and so the easier and faster it will be for everyone. We are very happy to see how involved our dealers are in this project!