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Farmers consider 'burning or burying' plastic waste

BBC Piles of rubbishBBC
Farmers have to dispose of plastic correctly after 12 months of storage

Farmers could resort to burning or burying plastic waste because there is no other way to dispose of it, it has been claimed.

The only company dedicated to collecting it from farms across Wales has suspended its services for a year.

Pontardawe-based Birch Farm Plastics blamed a recycling plant it uses now charging fees instead of paying for farm plastics.

Union NFU Cymru urged farmers and the Welsh Government to find a solution.

Rules state farmers are allowed to store plastic waste for 12 months but then must dispose of it correctly.

But some told BBC Wales they were worried about how to dispose of their plastic.

Mathew Jones, who farms in Nantgaredig in Carmarthenshire, said there was talk among farmers of burning or burying plastic due to costs, but they would rather recycle plastic waste.

Birch Farm Plastics said the newly-introduced costs meant it was not viable to continue.

It said more needed to be done to encourage recycling plants to accept more plastic from farms.

A crane sorting through rubbish
The Welsh Government said farmers have a responsibility to dispose of plastic correctly

The Welsh Government said: "The disposal of farm plastic is a commercial matter between the farmers, the collectors of the plastic film waste, and the plants that can and do recycle it.

"Farmers have a responsibility to ensure their plastic is disposed of correctly."