Farm plastic recycling costs double in five years

Farmers are paying double what they were five years ago to recycle their farm plastics, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture has been told.

It is estimated that it is now costing farmers roughly €500/t to recycle their plastic. This is including the levy which they pay when purchasing a roll of silage wrap or sheet for a silage pit as well as the €120/t collection charge at the bring centre when getting rid of it.

The Irish Farm Film Producers Group (IFFPG) operates Ireland’s approved farm plastics recycling compliance scheme with over 200 bring centres around the country as well as on-farm collection services.

The group’s CEO Liam Moloney told the committee last week that the increases experienced by farmers over the last number of years have been necessary to deal with the “huge increase in recycling costs”.

Moloney told the committee that they did not plan to increase either the collection charge or levy in 2026. “In the past when our finances were very flush, going back 10 or 12 years ago, we reduced both the recycling levy and collection charges to farmers.

“If we did get into such a position again we would most certainly consider reducing both of those.

“We’re a not for profit body but we have to have a certain amount of funding in order to run ourselves,” Moloney told the committee.

Scheme

IFFPG has been a part of the approved farm plastics recycling compliance scheme since 1998, the company is a not for profit, which is owned by its producer members and the Irish Farmers’ Association.

The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, as legislators of the scheme, was also before the committee.

Bernie Kiely, principal officer at the Department, said that Ireland is one of a few countries in Europe to have introduced legislation specifically designed to promote the recycling of farm plastics.