Agricultural plastics are essential to increasing crop productivity. They provide efficiency by acting on parameters such as light, temperature, hygrometry, irrigation, weeds, crop protection, etc. They also reduce the use of resources such as water, fertilisers or agrochemicals. They protect the ground structure, promote root development and prevent diseases in plants. Among other benefits, they are also useful for storing grain or feed for livestock.
However, in order for these solutions to generate a positive impact on the environment, after their use, we have to promote a well-coordinated system to manage used agricultural plastics. When agricultural plastics are not properly managed, they can accumulate in the fields and end up abandoned in the wrong places.
To prevent this, several countries have encouraged the creation of national management systems. The principle of Producer Expanded Responsibility enables farmers, distributors and processors to cooperate in organising the collection of used plastics at the end of their service life. Thanks to this type of industry-led initiatives, many solutions are being implemented within a shared responsibility model.
The projects to properly manage agricultural plastics have seen significant results in all countries where they were implemented. The results have even surpassed expectations, with increased national volumes for collection and recycling, the promotion of good practises among users and managers, and better quality of the plastic waste collected, which in turn makes recycling easier and allows manufacturers to include higher percentages of recycled raw materials into new products.
The Armando Alvarez Group maintains a high corporate commitment strategy, encouraging the creation of collective systems for used agricultural film collection.
In Germany, the four Group companies working on producing solutions for agriculture (silage films, agricultural twine, mulch, perforated film, etc.), that is Aspla, Solplast, Reyenvas and Sotrafa, are members of the voluntary ERDE system. ERDE has been coordinating the recovery of used agricultural film since 2013 to integrate it into a circular economy model that enables full recycling and prevents used film from being abandoned in nature.
This year, thanks to the joint contribution of all the companies participating in ERDE, we have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 42,748 tonnes in absolute terms. The attached Climate Protection Certificate is proof of our joint effort year after year, and shows our commitment with the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals.
