Approximately 35 farmers, distributors and members of concerned organizations attended an agricultural plastics baling demonstration of the "Big Foot" mobile bailer at the Cooperstown Holstein Corp. Monday morning.

The demonstration was designed to show how agricultural and greenhouse plastics can be handled and disposed of in a more environmentally-friendly method by compressing large amounts into 1,500 pound bales that can be sold to recyclers.

According to a release sent out by the Cornell Cooperative Extension, much of the plastic used in agricultural capacities today are hauled to local solid waste transfer stations when they are no longer usable.

Much of the rest is either stashed on-farm, plowed into a field, or burned in open fires, releasing greenhouse gases and dangerous dioxins that may get into whatever product a farm produces.

Disposable agricultural plastics include dairy bags and bunker silo covers, balage wrap and netting, polytwine, irrigation drip tape, greenhouse and hoophouse covers, greenhouse trays, nursery pots, mulch and fumigation films, tarps, bird netting, pesticide and veterinary containers, seed and fertilizer bags, and bee hive frames.

Dennis Sutton, creator of the "Big Foot" baler, said he modified a bailer originally designed for baling tobacco leaves and came up with a safe, efficient method for storing agricultural plastic.

"We got to get started somewhere to keep it out of the landfills," said Sutton. "Somebody has to mastermind this and run with it."

He said the balers cost about $8,500 each.

Lois Levitan from Cornell University said that while it really isn't economically feasible to recycle ag plastics now, she thinks eventually it will be. The important thing she said, is to get the word out there about the option and pressure manufacturers to create products that are easier to recycle.

She expects that eventually, farmers will be able to sell their cleaned, ag plastic waste to recyclers for $70 a ton and will save money on disposal costs as well.

Bill Freeland, who owns a farm situated on the Cherry Valley and East Springfield border, said the demonstration was good, but showed there are complications with this method of disposing of the plastic. However, "something has to happen" to reduce the amount of plastic waste farms generate, he said.

The demonstration was a part of the Recycling Ag Plastics Project (RAPP), which is led by the Cornell University Environmental Risk Analysis Program in partnership with County Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations and others.

Disposable plastics are increasingly substituted for agricultural products that were previously made from longer lasting and natural materials. In comparison with the concrete silos, glass greenhouses, and sisal twine that they replace, plastics are often safer to use, improve production efficiency, cost less, and permit greater flexibility in management, according to Cornell Cooperative Extension and Otsego County Conservation Association officials.

David Cox, educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Otsego County, and Martha Clarvoe, special projects manager for Otsego County Conservation Association, have been working toward a solution for farmers and greenhouse operators' disposal issues. Recycling is the goal of RAPP, they said. However, this goal has not been easy to achieve because agricultural films are typically dirtier than other used plastic films, such as grocery bags and pallet wrap.

Bulky, loose film is expensive to transport and hard to handle. Recycling markets purchase the films in stackable bales that can be handled with a forklift, weighing between 1,000 to 1,500 lbs., and fit efficiently into a tractor-trailer for cost-effective transport.

"Several hurdles need to be overcome for recycling of used agricultural films to become a reality. Best management practices (BMP) need to be adopted to keep used film clean and in reasonably good condition for recycling. A waste management infrastructure needs to be developed to move used film cost-effectively off the farm to the local recycler and ultimately to plastics re-manufacturers," Cox said.

For more information, visit http:/environmentalrisk.cornell.edu/AgPlastics/BigFootTour2006, or contact David Cox, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Otsego County at 547-2536 x226; or Martha Clarvoe, Otsego County Conservation Association at 547-4020; or Lois Levitan, Environmental Risk Analysis Program, Cornell University at (607) 255-4765.