Agricultural plastic packaging represents approximately 1.5% of the overall volume of plastic packaging in the waste stream in England. Furthermore, there are over 120,000 farm holdings producing approximately 21,000 tonnes of plastic packaging and 65,000 tonnes of non-packaging plastic. The average quantity of plastic generated per holding (without contaminant) is approximately 0.5 tonnes per annum.

The Agricultural Waste Plastics Collection and Recovery Programme provides the following general guidance to farmers for the handling, segregation and storage of agricultural waste plastics (AWP).

• ††Store silage bales on concrete areas where possible; remove wrap prior to transporting the bales to the feeding area.
• Handle all silage film from bags and clamp to avoid dragging on soiled areas
• ††Where possible, remove crop covers from the field in optimum dry conditions to avoid excessive contamination
• Empty, triple rinse and drain all agro-chemical containers; dispose of contaminated water safely
• Fully empty out packaging e.g. fertiliser and seed bags – shake or brush if appropriate
• ††Segregate and bag or store the plastic waste as it arises (not after it has blown around the farm)
• ††Store AWP together at one site to ease collection/loading
• ††Segregate the waste according to type, i.e. wrap and sheeting, polytunnel and crop film, feed bags, fertilizer bags, string and netting
• Store AWP in appropriate areas to protect the material from wind and rain, e.g. use a fertiliser bag liner or a dedicated bin or a pen of pallets/hurdles so that it does not blow away
• ††Squash and flat pack packaging, e.g. fertilizer and feed bags, and tie into manageable bundles
• ††In some cases container tops need to be removed and kept in a separate bag
• ††All bags/liners should be labelled with their contents (and any contract number provided by a collector)
• Store on a firm surface, preferably on concrete. This reduces the likelihood of bagged waste ripping and slipping, as well as keeping the plastic cleaner
• Keep storage time to a reasonable minimum (The Waste Regulations stipulate a maximum of 12 months except for small quantities intended for recycling)