Tech Solutions

JJohn W. Bartok Jr.

Q: What are my options for recycling used greenhouse film?

The greenhouse and nursery industry uses an estimated 35 million pounds of plastic film that must be disposed of each year. As the cost of oil increases, the price that recyclers are willing to pay for this discarded plastic has been increasing. A check of the internet shows recyclers are paying from $0.06 to $0.12 per pound depending on the cleanliness of the plastic.

It is estimated that hand removal of plastic costs growers 20 to 60 cents per pound and as much as 50 cents per pound for trucking and tipping fees to dispose of it. Keeping it clean, sorting and baling it has allowed some growers to break even or realize a small profit since some recyclers are willing to pay for large quantities of recycled film.


Film handling
To be of value to a recycler, the plastic should be sorted by type, be clean and be baled for easy handling. Before the plastic can be converted into pellets for recycled products, it goes through several processes. It is first inspected for contamination from soil, pesticides, organic matter and ultraviolet light degradation. Since much of the greenhouse plastic that is used today is coextruded with additives, such as ultraviolet light stabilizers, anti-condensate control, infrared inhibitors and shading compounds, sorting by type is important.