In November 2018 the Lacombe County, Red Deer County, and Ponoka County started an agriculture plastics recycling program, but more recently, the government of Alberta has made an exciting announcement in support of these recycling programs across Alberta.

“The Alberta government has started a three-year pilot project where they are picking a number of municipalities to work on these issues so there is some grant funding available that we can access,” said Dion Burlock, Agriculture Fieldman for the County of Lacombe.

To ensure a successful pilot, the Lacombe County is looking for more participants of the free plastic recycling service. For now, the County is only able to accept grain bags but Dion believes they will be able to accept different sorts of plastics in the future.

“Our current program right now only deals with plastic grain bags though. We don’t have a reliable processor for silage film, or twine, or net wrap. We are looking at that problem and moving forward we are going to address it, but at this time we are only collecting grain bags,” says Burlock.

To recycle grain bags they should be free from dirt, grain, mud, debris, and vermin, and it is recommended that you schedule the collection service within one week of grain extraction.

Regardless of whether you live in Red Deer or Ponoka County, the Lacombe County is handling the administration for the collection of the grain bags. Therefore, the Lacombe County will be answering questions about the service and scheduling the collection service.

For more information on the service click here.