The use of plastics in agriculture is extensive since they are used in various instances. Pollution caused by agricultural plastics is one of the biggest challenges as currently only about 10 percent of farm plastics are recycled worldwide.
The situation in Greece is characterized by deficiencies in the recording of quantities produced and used, while disposal on the ground and open fire are the dominant management practice, with the remaining farm plastic waste ending up in landfills.
EU regulations are -and will continue to do so- imposing strict rules for the protection of the environment. The Green Deal is already tapping into these issues. Developments will have direct impact both on agricultural practices and the ability of agrifood businesses to receive subsidies. They are already affecting the competitiveness of producers ability to do business abroad.
New Agriculture for a New Generation has embarked upon a nation-wide effort around responsible waste management of farm plastics.
Our goals are:
To this end, in a joint initiative with the Athanassios Laskaridis Charitable Foundation (ALCF) and with the support of the Hellenic Crop Protection Association (HCPA) we have organized a working meeting titled “Plastics in Agriculture” on December 9, 2019 in Athens. At the meeting, all new developments and concerns in the field of farm plastics were presented and discussed by experts and institutional representatives from Greece and abroad, as well as representatives of the ministries and recycling companies. It was made clear that, although the problem has been documented, there is no proper planning to address farm plastic waste.
As a next step, the "New Agriculture for a New Generation" program has commissioned an exoert environmentalist, Mrs Christina Kontaxi to conduct research on the use of farm plastics in Greece and come up with a brief report on the situation in the country and the EU regulatory framework, as an initial mapping tool in order to find solutions for farm plastics waste.
Based on the above, the "New Agriculture for the New Generation" program undertook the initiative to implement a pilot program for responsible waste management of farm plastics.
This program will include:
This initiative will be implemented in collaboration with the Hellenic Crop Protection Association and with the support of Athanassios Laskaridis Charitable Foundation, Captain Vasillis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation and the Ministry of Rural Development and Food.
The program “New Agriculture for a New Generation” facilitates the discussion and collaboration among key players and connects the dots between the users, recyclers, policy makers and institutional actors.
