WOODLANDS COUNTY- Woodlands County area farmers looking for a more environmentally friendly way to dispose of their used bale twin and grain bags will have another option.
At their April 9 meeting, councillors unanimously approved a recommendation by the Agricultural Services Board (ASB) to expand the municipality's agriculture plastics recycling program, which would allow farmers to recycle their bale twin at county transfer stations and the grain bags at Fort Assiniboine Municipal Office/Public Works building. They will also accept twine.
In a separate motion, councillors also asked administration to ask the Town of Whitecourt to consider accepting bale twine at the Whitecourt Transfer Station and the Whitecourt Regional Landfill.
Agricultural services manager Dawn Fortin said the municipality had collected pesticide containers for over 20 years, and given the county is an agricultural community, it made sense to apply to Cleanfarms to expand its agricultural plastic program to include grain bags and bale twine.
"This expansion would align with environmental stewardship goals and address the growing need for sustainable agriculture practices in our area," she said.
Blue Ridge Coun. Bruce Prestidge asked if farmers could drop off the twine at just the Whitecourt transfer station or if they could also bring it to the Whitecourt Regional Landfill.
Fortin said, ultimately, that would be up to the Whitecourt Regional Solid Waste Management Authority, which the town is the unit of authority.
However, she said that if they agreed, it would be an easy addition.
"[The county] already has a bin there to collect pesticide containers, and we could use the same bin," Fortin said, adding that depending on how much twine and pesticide container volumes there are, staff could collect the items weekly if needed.
Anselmo Coun. Dave Kusch, the county's representative on the Waste Management Authority Board, appeared via teleconference and said that adding twine to the items accepted as part of the landfill recycle station would not be a problem.
"I know through the board's discussions that twine is a big problem [at the landfill], and I can't see why they wouldn't get on board," he said.
Kush added that the more significant issue would be educating producers on properly collecting the twine.
"It can't just be a mixed bag of twine and grass. [Farmers and producers] need to find ways to clean it," he said.
Fortin said she would work with the county's communication staff to circulate relevant information through its social media platforms and local newspaper advertising.
"Cleanfarms has a lot of material about the program that we can utilize," she said.
Goose Lake/Freeman River Coun. Peter Kuelken also said at the ASB level, they discussed how landfill and transfer station staff would also need additional training.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
