{"id":35668,"date":"2026-08-13T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T14:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=35668"},"modified":"2026-08-13T10:15:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T14:15:00","slug":"a-queensland-couple-keeps-the-plastic-matting-and-drip-tape-that-grew-their-tomatoes-because-australia-recycles-only-7-percent-of-farm-plastic-and-no-truck-will-take-the-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/a-queensland-couple-keeps-the-plastic-matting-and-drip-tape-that-grew-their-tomatoes-because-australia-recycles-only-7-percent-of-farm-plastic-and-no-truck-will-take-the-rest\/35668\/","title":{"rendered":"A Queensland couple keeps the plastic matting and drip tape that grew their tomatoes, because Australia recycles only 7 percent of farm plastic and no truck will take the rest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Jodi and Phill Brown\u2019s farm near Bowen, white and black weed matting gives tomato, chile, and bell pepper seedlings protection from weeds and the northern sun. Black drip tape beneath the rows delivers water and fertilizer to the roots, but after harvest those same materials become dirty, bulky waste with nowhere practical to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Browns\u2019 growing stockpile<\/a> points to a much larger failure. Queensland\u2019s new recycling strategy puts plastics on its priority list, yet it does not set out a dedicated pathway for the film, pipe, tape, netting, and mesh used on farms, especially in remote regions where a long truck trip can cost more than the recovered plastic is worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plastic is useful until the harvest ends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Agricultural plastic is not a pointless extra. The Food and Agriculture Organization<\/a> says products such as mulch, irrigation tubing, greenhouse covers, and protective films can raise productivity, conserve water, reduce agrochemical use, and extend growing seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trouble starts at the end of the crop cycle. Farm plastic is often mixed with soil, plant matter, moisture, or chemical residues, and FAO says that contamination makes the material difficult to recycle<\/a> even when farmers want to do the right thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jodi
Jodi Brown stands beside accumulated agricultural plastic from previous growing seasons on her family’s farm near Bowen, illustrating the recycling challenge documented by ABC Tropical North’s Aimee Mitchell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Australia recycles only a small share<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The best available estimates use slightly different scopes, but both show a severe gap. RMCG puts Australia\u2019s pre-farm-gate plastic waste at around 100,000 metric tons<\/a> in 2020\u201321, while an Australian Government stewardship brief estimated about 90,000 metric tons of non-packaging agricultural plastic a year and said only around 7% was recycled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agricultural waste consultant Anne-Maree Boland told ABC that probably two-thirds of the total is generated by horticulture. She also said the economics start to fail when plastic must travel more than 300 kilometers, which helps explain why regional growers can face landfill bills running into thousands of dollars while still struggling to find a carrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One failed program cost growers real money<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Browns tried to prepare for recycling rather than wait for someone else to solve the problem. They spent about A$30,000 on a special tool that swept their plastic matting clean and kept it separate from drip tape, only for the proposed program to miss out on government funding and collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That experience exposes the weak link in many recycling pilots. A machine on one farm is not enough without reliable collection, clear contamination standards, long-term financing, processing capacity, and customers willing to buy products made with the recovered material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Townsville could change the math<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sandra Richards is now working with a family owned Chinese recycling company on a proposed Townsville facility that could wash and process about 20,000 metric tons of farm plastic each year. The partners say the material could return to agriculture in products such as produce bags, creating a more local loop instead of another trip to landfill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On paper, that capacity equals roughly one-fifth of RMCG\u2019s national estimate for annual farm plastic waste. The project is still looking for a site with the right combination of electricity, water, and access to the Port of Townsville, a reminder that a recycling plant<\/a> needs far more than a steady pile of feedstock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Queensland has funding but no farm-specific program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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