Rice Farming

Like many producers, Abbott Myers would rather recycle used poly irrigation tubing than bury it on his farm or take it to the landfill. In fact, the Dundee, Miss., area producer of rice, cotton and soybeans has 45 rolls of spent tubing waiting in a truck to be recycled.

The only thing holding Myers back is lack of a central collection site nearby. But Tunica County Extension agent Anthony Bland is working on that.

“The biggest problem is finding a central location that all of the farmers can take it to that won’t be an eyesore for the person keeping it,” Bland says. “We think we have one now.

“But we don’t want to get into the problem of illegal dumping of washers, driers, tires or junk. We want to have a controlled area that can be locked and unlocked.”

Myers isn’t alone, either. Bland says at least a dozen Tunica County farmers have 276 rolls of used tubing to recycle.

Recycling makes sense
If you don’t recycle, you’re left with three other disposal methods—burying the poly tubing on your farm, burning the tubing or taking it to a landfill. And all three have drawbacks.

Because poly tubing doesn’t decompose readily, you can quickly fill up any pits or ditches on your farm with a few years of burying poly tubing.

The buried tubing also is becoming a water quality problem in some areas. As crews clean out bayous and ditches, they’re finding pieces of the plastic.

“It’s becoming a real nuisance because it doesn’t break down,” Bland says.

Burning simply melts the poly tubing into a molten mess and creates air pollution in the process. In some counties, it’s illegal.

Landfill disposal carries ever-increasing tipping fees that typically run between $18 and $22 per ton.
Or you can reroll the tubing, load it up on a truck or trailer and haul it to a nearby collection site, where the material will be cleaned, pelleted and eventually recycled into plastic garbage bags.

Currently, the only company that collects and recycles used poly irrigation tubing is Delta Plastics in Stuttgart, Ark.

“If they take it to our collection sites, they don’t pay the tipping fee,” says Dhu Thompson, chief executive officer and owner of Delta Plastics. “And it accumulates over the years on your farm. These weights are pretty substantial. It’s not like you can pick this stuff up and throw it away. You have to use a front-end loader.”

A community approach to recycling
Delta Plastics originally worked through agricultural chemical dealerships to set up the used pipe collection sites. The drawback to that approach was that a community may have three or four dealerships.

Since then, the Stuttgart company has moved more to a community approach to establish collection sites.
“We provide a service like Waste Management but only handle one product—poly irrigation tubing,” Thompson says.

So far, Delta Plastics has set up 152 collection sites throughout the four-state region of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.

“If they sell our pipe, we pick it up for free,” Thompson says. “If they don’t sell our pipe, we pick it up for $450 a load.”

A load is about 44,000 pounds or 115 to 125 rolls, depending on the roll size.

The reason why Delta Plastics charges for picking up competitors’ product is the company has expenses associated with the service. The company has the freight for hauling the tubing into the Stuttgart plant. It also has the cost of applying its patented process to clean up the tubing, which typically is mud-caked and dirty after being in the field the entire season.

If you don’t have the equipment to haul the used pipe into a recycling collection site, Delta Plastics will travel to your farm for $200 per load, if it’s Delta Plastic’s brand. But the road into your farm must be all-weather and able to accommodate an 18-wheel semi-truck.

You may be able to reduce that cost by joining with a few neighbors and pooling your pipe together for one pickup. A typical farmer uses 20 to 30 rolls of pipe per season.

Reroll your pipe
Delta Plastics requires the tubing be rolled and prefers it not contain a core.

Wayne Dulaney of Dulaney Seeds in Clarksdale, Miss., has developed a pipe retriever that rolls the tubing around pieces of angle irons rather than a PVC core. At the same time, two guides scrape off excess mud.

“Our recycler, Delta Plastics, only takes [the tubing] if it’s rolled up,” says Dulaney, who also has a collection site on his facility. “They like our unit because it doesn’t have a core.”

The hydraulically driven retriever can be carried by a small tractor and costs about $2,650. Delta Plastics also rents rollers, and some counties, such as Tunica, have rollers to loan producers free of charge. Bland says Tunica County built two rollers about four years ago for growers to use.

From pipe to garbage bags
Once Delta Plastics has cleaned the tubing, it turns it into pellets of certified post-consumer resin. The material is then sold to companies that make garbage bags.

Delta Plastics uses only 100 percent virgin polyethylene to manufacture it’s irrigation tubing.

If you look at the fine print on a plastic shopping bag from a grocery or discount store, it will say in fine print something like “80 percent recycled content.” Of that, a larger portion will be post-industrial material—scrap left over from the manufacture of polyethylene products.

The remaining smaller portion will be post-consumer material, meaning it was made from some other manufactured product that has since been recycled.

In California, state law requires that all garbage bags made or sold in the state contain at least 10 percent certified post-consumer resins.

Thompson estimates that Delta Plastics removes between 12 million and 15 million pounds of the poly irrigation tubing from the environment annually from the four-state region it serves. That includes poly tubing used to irrigate all crops, including rice.

But Thompson estimates, based on sales figures, that producers still dispose of about twice that amount by other means.

Contact Vicky Boyd at (209) 571-0414 or vlboyd@att.net.

Good for you, good for your farm Recycling used poly irrigation tubing makes financial, environmental sense
By Vicky Boyd Editor
Like many producers, Abbott Myers would rather recycle used poly irrigation tubing than bury it on his farm or take it to the landfill. In fact, the Dundee, Miss., area producer of rice, cotton and soybeans has 45 rolls of spent tubing waiting in a truck to be recycled. The only thing holding Myers back is lack of a central collection site nearby. But Tunica County Extension agent Anthony Bland is working on that. “The biggest problem is finding a central location that all of the farmers can take it to that won’t be an eyesore for the person keeping it,” Bland says. “We think we have one now. “But we don’t want to get into the problem of illegal dumping of washers, driers, tires or junk. We want to have a controlled area that can be locked and unlocked.” Myers isn’t alone, either. Bland says at least a dozen Tunica County farmers have 276 rolls of used tubing to recycle. Recycling makes sense If you don’t recycle, you’re left with three other disposal methods—burying the poly tubing on your farm, burning the tubing or taking it to a landfill. And all three have drawbacks. Because poly tubing doesn’t decompose readily, you can quickly fill up any pits or ditches on your farm with a few years of burying poly tubing. The buried tubing also is becoming a water quality problem in some areas. As crews clean out bayous and ditches, they’re finding pieces of the plastic. “It’s becoming a real nuisance because it doesn’t break down,” Bland says. Burning simply melts the poly tubing into a molten mess and creates air pollution in the process. In some counties, it’s illegal. Landfill disposal carries ever-increasing tipping fees that typically run between $18 and $22 per ton. Or you can reroll the tubing, load it up on a truck or trailer and haul it to a nearby collection site, where the material will be cleaned, pelleted and eventually recycled into plastic garbage bags. Currently, the only company that collects and recycles used poly irrigation tubing is Delta Plastics in Stuttgart, Ark. “If they take it to our collection sites, they don’t pay the tipping fee,” says Dhu Thompson, chief executive officer and owner of Delta Plastics. “And it accumulates over the years on your farm. These weights are pretty substantial. It’s not like you can pick this stuff up and throw it away. You have to use a front-end loader.” A community approach to recycling Delta Plastics originally worked through agricultural chemical dealerships to set up the used pipe collection sites. The drawback to that approach was that a community may have three or four dealerships. Since then, the Stuttgart company has moved more to a community approach to establish collection sites. “We provide a service like Waste Management but only handle one product—poly irrigation tubing,” Thompson says. So far, Delta Plastics has set up 152 collection sites throughout the four-state region of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri. “If they sell our pipe, we pick it up for free,” Thompson says. “If they don’t sell our pipe, we pick it up for $450 a load.” A load is about 44,000 pounds or 115 to 125 rolls, depending on the roll size. The reason why Delta Plastics charges for picking up competitors’ product is the company has expenses associated with the service. The company has the freight for hauling the tubing into the Stuttgart plant. It also has the cost of applying its patented process to clean up the tubing, which typically is mud-caked and dirty after being in the field the entire season. If you don’t have the equipment to haul the used pipe into a recycling collection site, Delta Plastics will travel to your farm for $200 per load, if it’s Delta Plastic’s brand. But the road into your farm must be all-weather and able to accommodate an 18-wheel semi-truck. You may be able to reduce that cost by joining with a few neighbors and pooling your pipe together for one pickup. A typical farmer uses 20 to 30 rolls of pipe per season. Reroll your pipe Delta Plastics requires the tubing be rolled and prefers it not contain a core. Wayne Dulaney of Dulaney Seeds in Clarksdale, Miss., has developed a pipe retriever that rolls the tubing around pieces of angle irons rather than a PVC core. At the same time, two guides scrape off excess mud. “Our recycler, Delta Plastics, only takes [the tubing] if it’s rolled up,” says Dulaney, who also has a collection site on his facility. “They like our unit because it doesn’t have a core.” The hydraulically driven retriever can be carried by a small tractor and costs about $2,650. Delta Plastics also rents rollers, and some counties, such as Tunica, have rollers to loan producers free of charge. Bland says Tunica County built two rollers about four years ago for growers to use. From pipe to garbage bags Once Delta Plastics has cleaned the tubing, it turns it into pellets of certified post-consumer resin. The material is then sold to companies that make garbage bags. Delta Plastics uses only 100 percent virgin polyethylene to manufacture it’s irrigation tubing. If you look at the fine print on a plastic shopping bag from a grocery or discount store, it will say in fine print something like “80 percent recycled content.” Of that, a larger portion will be post-industrial material—scrap left over from the manufacture of polyethylene products. The remaining smaller portion will be post-consumer material, meaning it was made from some other manufactured product that has since been recycled. In California, state law requires that all garbage bags made or sold in the state contain at least 10 percent certified post-consumer resins. Thompson estimates that Delta Plastics removes between 12 million and 15 million pounds of the poly irrigation tubing from the environment annually from the four-state region it serves. That includes poly tubing used to irrigate all crops, including rice. But Thompson estimates, based on sales figures, that producers still dispose of about twice that amount by other means. Contact Vicky Boyd at (209) 571-0414 or vlboyd@att.net.
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