Agrecovery

What is the recycling scheme and how can you take part.

Agrecovery’s ‘Small Bags Product Stewardship Scheme’ provides farmers and growers with a sustainable solution for recycling plastic bags commonly used for products like seed, feed and fertiliser (25kg and under in size).

We’re joining the leaders in providing sustainable solutions for used soft plastics – LDPE (# 4)  and woven PP (# 5) -  which is what many farm product bags are made of. Historically, these bags have been disposed of by being dumped in landfill, where they slowly break down and release chemicals into our soil and water.

We have started a move to a more circular economy and a more sustainable way of operating – and a big part of this is helping make recycling options available to farmers and growers across Aotearoa as soon as possible.

How can you get involved?

1. Register: Visit Agrecovery’s website and register as an Agrecovery member or if you only use a small number of bags some merchant stores do have instore bins available – you can see all 200 collection sites here.
2. Order your free liner: Your Woven PP and LDPE bags must be stored separately in specific colour-coded Agrecovery liners. Order your free liners here or phone Agrecovery 0800 247 326.
3. Participating Brands: Agrecovery can only accept bags from brands who have chosen to join the scheme. These brands pay a voluntary levy which enables Agrecovery to collect and recycle their bags. You can read more about participating brands here and here
4. Ensure the tops of your bags have been fully opened: Fully remove the string or cut along the top of the bags to easily remove any excess residue.
5. Give bags a good shake: Ensure bags are clean and free of residue, dirt and other organic contamination.
6. Pack clean and empty bags in the Agrecovery liner supplied: Full liners should fit between 60-75 Woven PP bags or 100 LDPE bags. Ensure nothing else is placed in the liners or they won’t be accepted.
7. When full, seal the liner with the coded zip tie supplied: Your liners will be sent to you with coded zip ties. These unique coded allow collection sites to record your recycling in your Agrecovery account. Store full liners in a dry, shaded location. Liners should not be stored for longer than six months.
8. Drop your full liners off at the nearest collection site: There are 200+ fixed collection sites across New Zealand. Liners will be inspected by site staff to ensure all acceptance criteria has been met. You can find a list of participating stores and their drop-off hours below by heading here North Island or South Island
9. If you have any questions about the scheme or need more information on how to participate get in touch with