Alternatives to farm plastics

in terms of plastic per gram of product sold id bet farmers were very low on the list of polluters, i got my shopping delivered the other day and EVERYTHING is single double or triple coated in plastic most unnecessarily car rubber, most stuff from amazon - plastic , all video games on cd plastic ,dvds forever more, oil, dont even get me started on the cleaning products that are not only fairly unnecessary but also coated in plastic that also stated bad for marine life as its made to be washed down the drain ... the list goes one - WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS :)
 

Agri Spec Solicitor

Member
Livestock Farmer
Why can’t all the bale wrap of all colours not be recycled into……bale wrap? Personally I would not mind if it was different colours or striped. I know the crows won’t mind?😥
Same for the net?
Or is it recycled already? I don’t know.
 

flowerpot

Member
Magazines are delivered in paper wrappers now - but isn't that chopping down trees to make paper, plus all the water, plus the transport as paper is heavier than plastic.

Some wrappers are made of a material that can be composted, maybe potato starch or similar? But if silage wrap was made out of such material would it degrade and leave the silage inside exposed to the air?

I collect bags of feed and have discovered that paper sacks get damp when it is raining. Plastic does have its uses.
 

Exfarmer

Member
Location
Bury St Edmunds
Compostable plastic , just does not work, have spent the last 18 months pulling those magazine wrapper and supermarket bags out of my composting bins. They do not break down!
 

icanshootwell

Member
Location
Ross-on-wye
Magazines are delivered in paper wrappers now - but isn't that chopping down trees to make paper, plus all the water, plus the transport as paper is heavier than plastic.

Some wrappers are made of a material that can be composted, maybe potato starch or similar? But if silage wrap was made out of such material would it degrade and leave the silage inside exposed to the air?

I collect bags of feed and have discovered that paper sacks get damp when it is raining. Plastic does have its uses.
Same buying cement, much better in plastic bags, soon goes off in paper unless stored in a very dry place.
 

slackjawedyokel

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
in terms of plastic per gram of product sold id bet farmers were very low on the list of polluters, i got my shopping delivered the other day and EVERYTHING is single double or triple coated in plastic most unnecessarily car rubber, most stuff from amazon - plastic , all video games on cd plastic ,dvds forever more, oil, dont even get me started on the cleaning products that are not only fairly unnecessary but also coated in plastic that also stated bad for marine life as its made to be washed down the drain ... the list goes one - WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS :)
I would imagine that Supermarkets are the good guys, once they’ve passed the responsibility for all their plastic products back up the food chain to farmers 😒
 
Same buying cement, much better in plastic bags, soon goes off in paper unless stored in a very dry place.
Here here, so if we use plastic where its needed, instead of just wrapping everything in it. I bought a sledge hammer, entirely encased in plastic to protect it on its perilous journey, obviously without the slightest idea what I was going to do with the thing when I got it home
 

Nearly

Member
Location
North of York
It uses large quantities of recycled paper and cardboard. The wood pulp I believe comes in from Scandinavia.

The waste from the plant is land spread and gets ploughed in. it is very high in lime.
The reps are careful to say it has a 'lime equivalent'. It's alkaline, probably a bit of excess caustic soda from the washing process.
Good stuff though.
 

penntor

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
sw devon
Mole Valley mag now comes with no wrapper at all.
Yes, I am concerned about the amount of single use plastic I produce, bale wrap and net etc. Small feed bags ( still have sheep nuts in 25kg bags) get snapped up by people for various uses, could probably sell them rather than give them away like I do now, so they are reused ( high up the waste hierarchy ).
I think single use plastics are, in reality, more of a problem on farms rather than a few animals farting methane.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 115 38.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 115 38.3%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 42 14.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 6 2.0%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 5 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 17 5.7%

Expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive offer for farmers published

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  • 1
Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer from July will give the sector a clear path forward and boost farm business resilience.

From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon Sir Mark Spencer MP Published21 May 2024

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Full details of the expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer available to farmers from July have been published by the...
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