The City of Yorkton Landfill will begin collecting rolled Grain Bags free of charge for recycling starting December 1st, 2018.
“The new program, in conjunction with Cleanfarms Inc., will provide a collection site at the landfill for clean, rolled grain bags to be dropped off,” said Landfill Manager JeanAnne Teliske. “This adds a new and important feature to Yorkton’s recycling programs, and will provide an important service for the regional agricultural community” said Mayor Bob Maloney. The Yorkton Sanitary Landfill already serves a number of communities and municipalities in the region on a fee for service basis, as smaller, local landfills can no longer meet environmental standards and are becoming uneconomical.
Over the past 10 years, the use of grain bags has grown substantially across the prairies as a convenient, short-term storage solution for grain farmers. The bags, however, can only be used once, and then must be disposed of. “There will now be a local option for disposal,” said Teliske.
Cleanfarms is a not-for-profit environmental stewardship association, which works with governments and partner agencies to provide Canadian farmers with a tangible way to address agricultural waste management.
They currently operate 25 other grain bag collections sites across the province, partnering with agri-retailers and municipalities to provide collection sites. Funding for the 2018 grain bag recycling program was provided in part by
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture through the federal-provincial Growing Forward 2 initiative.
Bags brought for recycling must be as clean as possible, rolled and tied securely with twine. Once approximately 18 tonnes or approximately 120 grain bags have been collected at the Yorkton site, Cleanfarms will pick up the bags for recycling. Almost two thirds of the product is recycled in North America, into products such as garbage bags. The remaining third goes to overseas markets.
For more information visit yorkton.ca/waste, or call the city’s Environmental Services Department at 306-828-2470.
