Tama Assist Reduce – Reuse – Replace.
For many years Tama has been active in reducing and re-using the waste generated from its own manufacturing sites.
Operations are continuously reviewed at every stage of plastic production to develop more sustainable crop baling products, such as netwrap and twine.
In the current manufacturing environment it is a reality that plastic is an essential part of agriculture in general and the baling industry in particular. But we at Tama understand that agricultural plastic waste is a challenge that urgently needs to be addressed and are therefore working hard to create products that use less plastic in the first place and then build processes that keep the plastic that is used, out of landfill and in the manufacturing cycle. In fact, at the time of writing Tama are the only agricultural manufacturer repurposing used agri-plastic, putting it back into new agricultural products……what works on the farm, stays on the farm.
Changing to more sustainable manufacturing methods will protect the land, so future generations of farmers will be able to grow the food we all depend on. Tama has therefore implemented a collection and recycling process in cooperation with a number of key collection schemes across Europe and the Healix recycling facility in the Netherlands.
The process starts on the farms with the removal, shaking (i.e. cleaning) of netwrap and twine and the subsequent collection via a growing number of national collection schemes. The plastic waste is then taken to the Healix recycling plant in Maastricht, where it is further cleaned and re-processed into high quality infinity polymers. These polymers are then repacked and shipped to Tama’s factories and returned to the field as new crop baling products.
One such product are our TamaCycle high-performance twines, that use significant percentages of recycled content, and have been tested all over the world, in a wide variety of balers and climates. Ensuring they are not just compatible with all balers but also offer the same high performance and quality customers have come to expect from Tama crop baling products.
Located in Maastricht in the Netherlands, HEALIX have designed and set up their plant to clean and recycle fiber waste.
Marcel Alberts, the founder of Healix has been active in the fiber and technical textile industry for almost two decades. Healix transform used ropes and nets from the fishing and farming industries, into virgin-like polymers for the manufacturing supply chain. The proven techniques, process, and design of their innovative recycling plant enable the creation of high-quality products, that keep plastic in the manufacturing loop and out of landfill.
The plastic fiber waste is processed into granules in three steps.
- Big bales of used twine comes from farms accross the EU, shipped to Maastricht where the fibers are reduced in size.
- These small fiber particles are washed and dried to make sure they are clean.
- The particles are then melted, filtered, and processed into granules for the global production chain.
Everyone has an important role to play:
- Manufacturers – create products that use less plastic but with no loss in strength and can be easily recycled
- Farmers – Shake out your nets and twine to remove soilage and recycle them with credible collection schemes
- Collection schemes – Collect and seperate agri plastics and deliver them to reputable recycling plants
- Recycling plants – Repurpose used agri-plastics using closed systems and promote the value of these re-used polymers to manufacturers
Regardless of where you are positioned in the product lifecycle, it is only by working together and being mindful of each other that we can ever hope to keep farm plastics on the farm, working hard for the good of everyone, rather than taking the easy option of throwing them into landfill.