Yara Fertilizers (NZ) was a foundation member, alongside BASF New Zealand, of the Small Bags Product Stewardship Scheme run by Agrecovery nationwide.

“We’re passionate about supporting growers to make the most of the opportunity to recycle eligible product packaging wherever possible,” says David Spencer from Yara. “It’s great to see PGG Wrightson and Fruitfed Supplies providing Agrecovery collection points at 53 of their stores.”

Product suppliers like Yara pay a voluntary levy to Agrecovery to cover the cost of recycling their bags, allowing farmers and growers to recycle their product bags for free. PGG Wrightson and Fruitfed Supplies contribute to the scheme as a voluntary levy payer as well as providing the collection points.

The Small Bags Product Stewardship Scheme recycles seed, feed, and fertiliser plastic bags, for products 25 kg and under that are made of LDPE plastic (number 4) or woven polypropylene (PP) plastic (number 5). Simply put your clean LDPE or woven PP bags from eligible brands into the correct Agrecovery liner and drop off at one of the 200 sites across New Zealand.

David says: “From a grower’s perspective, there’s a little housekeeping to shake the eligible plastic bags free of any remaining powder or granules and sort them into the correct recycling liner but it’s not too challenging and we’d love to see more growers taking their Yara product bags to be recycled.”

Felicity Mitchell, National Stream Manager - Small Bags, says the Agrecovery scheme promotes a circular economy, ensuring these plastics are recycled and repurposed rather than ending up burnt or in landfill. “The scheme’s success relies heavily on the brands like Yara, who voluntarily take responsibility for the plastic packaging of their products once growers have used them.

Head to agrecovery.co.nz/programmes/small-bags/ to order your free Agrecovery liners and see which brands’ packaging can be recycled.”

Your local Fruitfed Supplies Technical Horticultural Representative can also help with which LDPE plastic and woven PP bags have free recycling via Agrecovery.