Basic Overview

Agrecovery takes triple rinsed HDPE (2) plastic agrichemical containers from 1 litre to 60 litre or kg's. The containers must be brands and products that are distributed by the companies that support Agrecovery.

Click here for a list of all eligible products

Click here to view the guide on how to triple rinse containers properly

The manufacturer/distributor of agrichemicals will in time help you to identify which products are eligible by placing an Agrecovery sticker or logo on their stock. To see an example of a product label with the Agrecovery logo click on the image below.

Not all containers will be branded with the Agrecovery logo as there is old stock in the market place that was sold prior to Agrecovery starting. It may take years for this stock to filter through from the manufacturer to the retailer to the end user and ultimately to an Agrecovery collection site.

In the meantime if the container belongs to one of the Agrecovery committed brand owners, they are eligible for acceptance at all collection sites regardless of whether they have the Agrecovery sticker on them.

We can take other HDPE containers that are triple rinsed but these must have an Agrecovery "user pay sticker" attached. These can be purchased on this website by clicking on the sticker below.

To view the user pays sticker guidelines please click here.

This gives farmers and growers the ability to recycle all their containers regardless of brand or product type.

When a farmer or grower has containers to deliver they first will ensure they are triple rinsed and free from residue. They will then visit the local Agrecovery collection site to have their containers inspected.

Click here for details of the inspection process.

The farmer will need to fill out a compliance form at the collection site which will take just a couple of minutes. The containers are then inspected to ensure they are products/brands that are eligible for the programme and they are clean.

If any containers do not meet the prgramme standards they are rejected and handed back to the farmer with the message that we will be happy to take them when they meet the programme standards.

Click here to see an overview of the Agrecovery process.

Collection Process

The plastic containers, once accepted from the farmer are placed inside large branded Agrecovery shipping containers.

The programme managers of Agrecovery (3R Group Ltd) have developed cutting edge mobile shredding technology for the collection and processing of the agrichemical containers.

The plastic containers are shredded on site and compacted into the rear of the mobile shredding truck.

All the collected plastic is supplied to Astron Plastics in Auckland who reprocess the material right here in New Zealand.

This underground electrical cable cover is manufactured in Auckland. They are made from 100% recycled plastics collected and processed in New Zealand. Cable covers are used throughout New Zealand when underground utility cables such as electricity, gas, telecommuncation and water are being laid. Cable covers are strong polymeric plastic protector sheets which are laid over the top of utility cables to protect them from the damage caused by diggers and other heavy equipment. To ensure the cable cover can withstand the expected rigours, Astron Plastics use advanced penetration testing technology and ensure compliance with the strict standards of ASNZ 4702-2000.

Monitoring Programme Performance

Monitoring and evaluating product volumes and environmental compliance is a critical part of the Agrecovery programme. Due to the potentially hazardous nature of the plastics, all care must be taken in ensuring it gets reprocessed into acceptable end use product.

Agrecovery collects data and has developed auditing systems to ensure every aspect of programme delivery is first class.

The Agrecovery programme is working towards collection and recovery targets set in consulation with key stakeholders. Performance against these targets and other criteria will be reported in an Annual Report.

Product volumes are likely to impact on the product levy and therefore inform the pricing system for the following year.

Records of compliance are given to the farmers and growers at the Agrecovery collection sites. This will be very useful for farmers and growers for reporting to EurepGap and other compliance type programmes.