Sand filled pocket foil - Disposal Recycling

The amount of plastic in the enviroments is increasingly causing ecological and, closely related to this, social problems. This issue does not stop at the agricultural sector.

Large areas covered with plastic foil, asparagus foil that has been illegally disposed of in the environment, and the general increase in plastic waste are driving an intense, mostly negative discussion in society about the use of plastics.

In relation to asparagus cultivation, it was calculated that about 3.65 kg of plastic waste per ha and year remain in the soil. These mostly larger pieces of foil become smaller and smaller over a longer period of time in the soil and finally break down into nano-sized particles. Nanoplastic particles are so small that they can be absorbed by plants and thus enter the food cycle - where they definitely have no business.

This has sometimes led to the fact that the legislator now also demands the recycling of plastic waste. Sustainable dispoal of sand-filles pocket films is therefore becoming increasingly important.

In coorperation with the ATB, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy in Potsdam, the Hermeler sompany has developed a machine that removes up to 93% of sand from the pocket foil.:

SPAFO

Advantages:

• increased recyclability of the foil
  = Resource conservation
• considerable weight reduction of the pocket foil to be disposed of
  = Reduction of transport and disposal costs
  = less microplastics in the soil
• Reuse of the collected sand
  = Resource conservation

The SPAFO was awarded the 2023 Innovation Prize at the ExpoSE in Karlsruhe.

In this context, Hermeler will be happy to put you in touch with the company E.R.D.E. which specialises in the recycling of agricultural foils and other materials.