For instance, in Minnesota, 460,000 dairy cows alone account for an estimated 15-20 pounds of plastic per head each year. This, combined with plastic from beef and other livestock operations, leaves more than 10 million pounds of plastic waste annually, according to the Environmental Initiative, a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization. Most of this plastic was either sent to a landfill, buried or burned on site鈥攏one was recycled.
This is where a diverse group of stakeholders identified and established methods for properly managing agricultural as well as boat plastic-wrap waste. Due to its successful efforts, the group鈥擱ecycling Association of Minnesota and their partners, including Pope/Douglas Solid Waste Management (PDSWM)鈥攚ere selected as 2016 Partnership of the Year for its Recycling Agricultural and Marine Plastics program at the annual聽Environmental Initiative Awards.
Back in 2014, the Recycling Association of Minnesota identified and worked with all stakeholders to address the problem. Other partners included Tri-County South, McLeod and Dakota counties, as well as the MN Dept. of Agriculture.
“Farmers were calling us because they knew what they were doing with the plastic films wasn鈥檛 right,” said Brita Sailer of the Recycling Association of Minnesota. “I鈥檓 so proud of all of the partners that worked to find a common sense solution to this waste challenge.”
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