2. May-June-July, 2014 ! 23
An estimated 10,000 tons of nursery
containers are discarded every year
in NC.
Associated landfill charges cost
growers and landscapers ~ $266,000
Additional cost to you to haul these
containers to the landfill ~$135,000
Current market value of these con-
tainers can be $240,000 to
$1,440,000.
This adds up to a total value to your
industry of $641,000 - $1,841,000,
plus increased sales from marketing
a “greener” image.
Recycling creates jobs, adding fur-
ther “roll over dollars” in our commu-
nities.
Sounds too good to be true, for a bunch of
dirty old pots and flats, doesn’t it? It isn’t
all going to happen this summer but …
1) We have to start somewhere,
2) Learn from those who are succeed-
ing, and
3) Work together to overcome the main
obstacle of reducing haulage costs.
How did they manage it?
They took advantage of one of two options
for recycling nursery containers.
Option #1) Threw them in a trailer, unsorted
and hauled them to a nearby recycler.
• This system has worked well for
growers that live close to a recycler.
• Important to reduce haulage costs by
backhauling or nesting pots to in-
crease the weight on the truck.
Advantage: It’s easy with no sorting
costs.
Disadvantage: Low payment from recycler.
Overall: Growers want this method and it
has a future if we can identify consolidation
sites to get truckload quantities and grow-
ers can backhaul in their empty trucks after
delivering their plants.
Option #2) Some dumped the residual dirt,
sorted, stacked, wrapped and delivered.
Agricultural Plastics Recycling
Bev Fermor, Waste Reduction Partners
Part 3: Recycling nursery containers can have significant value BUT only if efficient collection
systems are developed.
See Agricultural Plastics Recycling
– continued on page 24
392 tons of pots recycled $17,000 savings to NC growers in
landfill charges
Some early adopters are recycling pots and the running totals since May 2012 are:
Option #1) Option #2)
3. 24 ! Nursery & Landscape Notes
• Individuals started collection sites to get densely packed, large
truck load quantities
• In some cases they are backhauling the discarded containers
in the trucks that they had delivered their plants to their clients.
Advantages: Reduced their haulage costs and received highest pay-
ment from recycler.
Disadvantage: Need to train staff to sort and stack, costs money
(~$80/ton = ~4 pallets).
Overall: These growers are telling us they are not losing money.
When they include the savings from landfill they are making money.
Long term, they believe a “greener” image will help their market-
ing.
The Main Obstacle: Reducing haulage costs.
How to succeed?
• Backhaul in your empty trucks.
• Stack your trucks carefully to maximum capacity.
• Cooperate with other growers in your area to get truck load
quantities.
• Find a collection site in your area, a local event, a Farmers’
Market, a nursery in your area, and find a group of you to work
together on filling a trailer.
Help Us to Help You Recycle
We are trying to work out who has empty trucks that could back-
haul empty pots to a recycler near them. Then identify landscapers,
garden centers and growers that could fill the truck with their empty
containers. Our aim is to help you develop a cost-effective, reliable
recycling program for a small group of growers, landscapers and/or
garden centers that you trust to do the right thing. You have told
us you do not want the public throwing trash into the trailer.
• Are you returning to your property with an empty truck and
live close to one of the recyclers on the list below? Have you
ever thought of backhauling pots for cash?
• Would you be willing to host a collection site for a small group
of NCNLA members to recycle? Then you could get a truck-
load of pots and reduce your haulage costs.
• Do you have a community event in your area that might host
a collection site? That is yet another way to get a truckload
and reduce haulage costs.
If so, please contact us. We want to hear your ideas and work out
solutions to save you money.
Do you still have your overwintering film?
• Don’t take it to the landfill.
• Contact one of these recyclers, email the recycling companies
pictures and quantities, or contact us and we can help you.
• If you slash off the bottom dirty part, make sure there are no
staples, nails etc and deliver it on pallets you might get up to
10 cents pound = $15/hoop-house, plus $3 in landfill sav-
ings/hoop house. Get together with colleagues to collect a
truckload.
• If you have a small amount sell it on Craigs List – Big Chime
did and got $20/hoop-house and the buyer took the film off
the houses!
Agricultural Plastics Recycling – continued from page 23
The NCNLA has teamed up with NC Dept of Agricul-
ture, Waste Reduction Partners (WRP) and NC Division
of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service
(DEACS) to pursue opportunities for recycling agricul-
tural plastics.
Please contact WRP for further assistance, or to pro-
vide your recycling story.
East of I-77 contact Bev Fermor bfermor@tjcog.org.
West of I-77, Jan Foster at jan.foster@hotmail.com.
WRP www.wastereductionpartners.org also offer
free energy assessments.
All photos provided by Waste Reduction Partners.
Toll Free:
1-800-PARROTT
1-800-727-7688
2508 N. Heritage Street
P.O. Box 3547
Kinston, NC 28502
Telephone: 252-523-1041
Fax 252-523-0145
E-Mail: mparrott@parrottins.com
Website: www.parrottins.com
Jake A. Parrott
Insurance Agency, Inc.
Serving You
Since 1937
4. May-June-July, 2014 ! 25
Company Contact Nursery Containers Film
Unsorted Sorted
AEIPLUSs Carol Konchinski
Belmont, NC 704-827-3828 Yes Yes Yes
ck@aeiplus.com
BPR Plastics Hoan Evans
Midlothian, VA 804-739-9779 Yes
hoan@bprplastics.com
CHS Plastics Chuck Stoudemire
Fort Mill, SC 843-858-1966 Yes Yes
chuck@chsplastics.com
Commercial Plastics Recycling Jordan Hendrix
Newton, NC 828-466-2711 Yes Yes
jordanh@cprinc.net
EarthWay Global Tim Moore Yes
Lenoir, NC 828-754-3344
tmoore@earthwayglobal.com
Engineered Plastics Kurt Duska Yes
Sanford, NC 919-776-6850
kd@engineeredplastics.com
Maine Plastics Curtis Tucker Yes
Apex, NC 919-387-3644
ctucker@maineplastics.com
New Life Plastics Susan Newman Yes
Burlington, NC 336-222-7775
snewman@newlifeplastics.com
North Georgia Textile Recyclers Ryan Ledford Yes Yes
Summerville, GA 706-844-2366
r.ledford@ngtsrecycling.com
Pelican Plastics, Pete Roy Yes
Halifax, NC 252-467-2940
lproy@pelpack.com
Recycling Management Resources Jason Carter Yes Yes Yes
Raleigh & High Point, NC 336-862-0735
jcarter@recyclingmr.com
Reily Recovery Kevin Reily Yes
Chapel Hill, NC 919-933-3611
Kevin@reilyrecovery.com
Sonoco Susan Albritton Yes Yes Yes
9 locations in NC* 843-861-2917
Susan.albritton@sonocorecycling.com
UCS Inc. Igor Beylin Yes
Multiple locations 704-690-9668
ibeylin@ucsincny.com
Verity Recycling Marty Danco Yes Yes Yes
Asheboro and Forest City, NC 336-465-4736
martindanco@aol.com
Waste Recovery & Recycling Joe Herring Yes
Lowell, NC 704-970-7732
joeh@plasticmaterialsonline.com
*Durham, Fayetteville, Gastonia, Greensboro, Hickory, Jacksonville, Raleigh, Salisbury, Winston Salem
