24/4/2018
Farm Recycling field day Great Success
A great turnout of farmers keen to find out more about options to deal with farm waste made for a successful field day.
The field day, held this week at the Orari Estate, had speakers from Environment Canterbury, AgRecovery, Plasback and
Timaru District Council.
Around 40 farmers came along to get an overview of the regulatory environment around waste management, how to
participate in current rural recycling schemes as well as find out more about future options.
It comes ahead of a rural recycling day taking place on 31 May in the Timaru District.
Timaru District is one of two districts in the country that are taking place in a pilot programme to provide
alternatives for agricultural waste and help shape future options.
TDC Waste Minimisation Manager, Ruth Clarke, said that it was great to see so many farmers keen to find out how to
improve their waste management performance.
“Many farmers are keen to improve environmental outcomes on their farms by adopting rural recycling practices.
“A key part of this project is not only outlining the highlighting the recycling options that farmers already have, but
also to gauge the response to councils making these services more readily available.
“The rural recycling day being held in May will be a one-off at this stage, coming along to the field day enabled
farmers to make the most of the day.
“With the great response we got to the open day, as well as the response that our colleagues in Matamata-Piako have had,
we would recommend farmers make sure they book in to the recycling day on 31 May.”
The trial events are part of the New Zealand Rural Waste Minimisation Project led by Environment Canterbury with support
from the Ministry for the Environment.
“Dealing with inorganic waste can be a challenge for farmers and growers. This project focuses on identifying
alternatives to burning, burying and bulk storage on farms,” said Isla Hepburn, Environment Canterbury’s Senior
Scientist, Environmental Quality and Hazards.
“By providing a reliable and cost-effective one-stop-shop approach to rural waste, we will be helping farmers and
growers to participate in rural recycling.”
For more information and instructions how to register visit: http://www.agrecovery.co.nz/rural-waste-project/
ends