Agriculture consumes only 2% of the plastic produced in the EU. In Spain, estimates are that this activity consumes nearly 220,000 tons, i.e., 6% of the national total. Agriculture is affected directly by the consequences of bad practices in managing this plastic waste, which negatively affects the environment, social, and tourist environment.
On Monday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Sustainable Development, AGRA (Association of Agrarian Waste Managers), and Coexphal held the ‘Improvements in the management of plastic waste’ workshop regarding how to eradicate the problem of abandoned plastic waste without control.
One of the proposals that stood out was the signing of a framework collaboration agreement between Coexphal and AGRA for the collection and recycling of plastic waste. It sets the necessary bases and resources for every farmer and fruit and vegetable company to have a service for collecting and recovering agricultural plastic.
"The ultimate goal is to have the necessary means to collect and recycle all the plastic used in the agricultural activity. We must make this a reality in the shortest possible time so we can affirm that 100% of the plastic used in Almeria is recycled," stated Juan Antonio Gonzalez, the president of Coexphal.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Sustainable Development and the sectoral organizations ASAJA Andalusia, COAG Andalusia, UPA Andalusia, APROA, Coexphal, Ecohal, Agricultural and Food Cooperatives of Andalusia, HortyFruta, and AGRA, signed a collaboration protocol to carry out a pilot test for the implementation of Trazyplast, a system that guarantees the traceability of the agricultural plastic waste that hasn't been implemented anywhere else in Spain or Europe.