| New
Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Arthur R. Brown,
Jr., said today that the three-year-old greenhouse
and nursery film collection and recycling program
has kept more than one million pounds of agricultural
film out of the state's landfills.
"New
Jersey is really a front runner in recycling greenhouse
and nursery film. Over the last three years we have
recycled over 1 million pounds of film," Brown noted.
As
of mid-July, the 1999 program had brought 270,320
pounds of film to the three approved collection sites:
the Atlantic County Utilities Authority, the Cumberland
County Utility Authority and East Coast Recycling.
This year's effort was scheduled to wrap-up on June
30 and the Atlantic and Cumberland sites adhered
to the original program deadline in order to bale
and market the material on hand.
However,
at the request of growers in southern New Jersey,
East Coast Recycling, a private recycling center
in Millville, agreed to continue to accept New Jersey
growers' film, possibly through November. East Coast
will waive the tipping fee for growers.
East
Coast Recycling is located in the Millville Industrial
Park, 1801 Eden Road, Millville. Prior to delivering
film to East Coast, growers should call (609) 327-8888
to make sure film is still being accepted. The facility
is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 4:00
pm.
Film
must be bundled and tied (the tie MUST be made of
greenhouse film) OR placed in boxes on pallets and
it MUST be free of any debris including, but not
limited to, wood, stone and dirt. Film which is dirty
or not properly prepared will be rejected.
In
FY98, NJDA received a grant from NJDEP that has enabled
the department to provide the three collection sites
with partial reimbursement for their collection and
baling costs. Brown said NJDA will evaluate this
year's grower participation and next year's funding
availability before announcing the 2000 program.
For
additional information on the nursery and greenhouse
film recycling project, growers can contact NJDA
at (609) 984-2506, the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape
Association at (609) 291-7070, or AT Plastics at
1-800-661-3606 or e-mail karen.kritz@ag.state.nj.us. |
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