For many years, farm plastics were discarded by any means possible as there was little thought as to the effect this was having on the environment.
However, the world has become more eco-friendly in the last few decades and in 1997, the Irish Government introduced farm plastic regulations to assist and promote the recycling of farm plastic waste. Four years later, the Waste Management (Farm Plastics) Regulations were put in place and there is an obligation on farmers to recover farm plastic waste generated.
A levy is charged on all farm plastics sold and this is used to assist in the recovery of the plastics. Farming has become one of the largest regular users of plastic film in this country, particularly for silage cover sheets and bale wrapping.
Irish legislation has placed an obligation on manufacturers and importers of farm plastics to arrange for suitable collection and disposal of used plastic film.
There are numerous companies around the country that offer this service and for this month’s edition of Irish Tractor & Agri, we profile Clare based Honan Farm Services.
Covering the Clare and Limerick areas, Honan Farm Services customer base has being growing considerably since the business was first established in 2014.
The company is a family run business with Patrick Honan and Sharon Barrington at the helm as well as his father Pat who looks after other areas of the family business Castle Construction and Pat Honan Plant Hire.
In partnership with IFF Plastics, the company can recycle all forms of plastic products at their facility both industrial and farm wastes in Cree, Co. Clare.
“Business has been going well since we started almost three years ago. We cover the Clare and Limerick regions and our customer base has expanded considerably during that time,” said Pat. A great help with our expansion in Limerick is due to our collection service we run for FRS in Bruree the manager there Liam O Rourke has been a great help to us.
We collect bale wrap, pit covers, manure and feed bags, fertilizer bags, Net Wrap segregated and bagged separately and plastic drums (triple washed).
The Honan family have been blessed to have received advice from the country’s founding father of plastic recycling and equipment building for recycling of farm plastics, a man who is known throughout the country for his work in this area.
“We have received expert advice and that has made a huge difference to us. From handling farm plastic, knowing how to set up the trucks and knowing what type of plastics you are carrying all makes the difference between succeeding in this business or failing.
I come from a plant hire background. My father started out cutting hay with a rotary mower many years ago and was one of the first men baling in the west Clare area. I grew up with that equipment all around me. During the recession everyone turned to the agri sector for a living and the baling was no longer a viable option for me so a new direction was needed.
“A discussion about collecting farm plastics with IFF recycling the waste stream evolved into the business being started up and we now have two trucks on the road going to farmyards removing all their waste plastic.”
Unlike many of their competitors, “Honan Farm Services charge by volume and not weight as we find the water helps to compress the plastic and keep it clean to a point. It also cuts out the need to store indoors which poses a fire risk.
We have two trucks on the road and two people are in the truck at all times. They are specially designed trucks that have cranes mounted on the rear of them with modified grabs to remove all types of plastic This also aids when unloading for sorting plastics in the facility”.
Much of the plastic is washed and recycled then sent to the UK for manufacturing, but Pat revealed that some of it is used to make plastic stakes at the IFF facility which has proven to be very durable product out performing all stakes in their category.
Pat has advice for his customers in order for them to handle their plastics in the best way possible.
“Store your plastic in pallets or bins. This helps with compaction and will reduce your costs on collection a 1 metre x 1 metre pallet box will hold 250 wraps and a double box can hold up to 700. No pallet underneath as it will rot and mix with plastic. There is no need for a divider pallet in a double box. By storing as above you can be accurately priced over the phone. Don’t mix plastics as they need to be separated at the plant which will incur costs on you.
Plastic thrown in a heap soaks water and any other contaminants in your yard doubling the volume it is harder to load and harder to compact it also is not recognised by the department as a responsible way to store plastic for recycling in turn causing you trouble with meeting compliance regulations.
As stated, the family run business also offers a construction service with much of their work being carried out for farmers, private home owners and the Local Authorities.
“We offer construction and agricultural contracting. We are fully insured and licensed. We carry out ground works, site clearance, waste haulage and civil engineering and have a large fleet of plant available with drivers or for self drive hire.
Honan Farm Services
Doonbeg,
Co. Clare
085 8811017
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 5, July/August 2017
