To dodge landfills, Oxford County pilot project sends tonnes of plastic farm waste for recycling
CBC
Less than a year after being launched, an agricultural recycling program in Oxford County has already diverted about eight tonnes of plastic farm waste from landfills, the township said.
And farmers are continuing to sign up to participate in the Agricultural Plastics Diversion Pilot Program, which the county introduced last June.
The initiative was a response to data that found farmers in the county generated about 300 tonnes of plastic litter every year, but the county didn't have an environmentally friendly way to dispose of it.
"Either the material was thrown in the garbage and ended up in the landfill or we suspect some farmers (were) maybe just burning it in burn piles," said Frank Gross, manager of transportation and waste management at Oxford County.
The program allows local farmers to dispose of plastic products, including fertilizer bags, salt bags and bale wraps. Farmers have to pay a small fee to recycle their plastics, depending on weight.
Within six months of the pilot project being launched, Oxford County was able to divert nearly five tonnes of plastic waste, Gross said. In 2024, farmers using the program have diverted an additional two and a half tonnes.
Administrators say the early results are a good start, but they hope to get a lot more people on board.
"We recently promoted the program again to remind farmers of the program so we're hoping to get some additional uptake."
Kris Fraser, owner and operator of Fraser Grove dairy farm in Oxford County, decided to join the agricultural pilot program in fall of last year.
"We have a lot of plastic waste on the farm for feed storage and stuff," said Fraser. "All the waste from our bunkers to plastic – we'd usually throw it in our dumpster and that ends up in the landfill."
Fraser bags leftover twine and plastic wrap that's used for bale, grass and other waste, then stockpiles those bags for three months before bringing them to the depot.
"I just have a little shed that I take [the waste] into and let it dry out," Fraser said. "Then basically I just shove it in a recycling bag…until it's full and then just wrap it up."
So far, Oxford County Waste Management Facility is the only drop-off location for plastic waste from farms.
But if enough farmers start participating, the county will expand drop-off locations for convenience, Gross said.
A provincial child-care advocacy group says governments need to commit to pushing $10-a-day child care forward in Canada, but a conservative think tank says data shows it isn't working as intended in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Diane Sims has already written her own obituary.
Thirty years after her murder in 1994, Halifax police are still looking for Kimber Leanne Lucas's killer.
When Kevin Campbell took a 1991 Chevy truck in trade at his dealership on Moncton's Salisbury Road in early November, he didn't have it for long.
Quebec mayor says 'one-size-fits-all' language law isn't right for his town where French is thriving
English is not Daniel Côté's first language but he says it's integral to the town he calls home.
As their role in health care continues to grow, nurse practitioners across Canada are looking to Alberta, where nurse practitioners recently formed their own union — but on P.E.I., the nurses' union that represents them says it's doing its job.
As the fallout over fallen buildings in Gore Park continues, Hamilton officials will be turning their attention to other properties.
Fire crews responded to a transport truck fire on the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit.
When the government touts that its auto insurance reforms might curb premiums by $400 come 2027, the ministers and premier don't readily mention what's to come in the three years leading up to that.
Who poses the greater threat to the free speech of Conservative MPs — the Speaker of the House of Commons or the leader of the Conservative Party?
As city council prepares to vote on a temporary shelter village for people experiencing homelessness in Thunder Bay, Ont., opposition is growing among the area's business community.