Bettina Hoffmann, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV), received the new voluntary commitment from the ERDE initiative in Berlin.

Hoffmann accepted the new declaration of commitment from the take-back system for agricultural plastics at the Green Week, according to the BMUV. The companies that have joined forces in the Initiative Erntekunststoffe Recycling Deutschland (ERDE) have committed to collecting and recycling over 60 per cent of all asparagus film placed on the German market by 2026 and over 75 per cent of all silage and stretch film by 2027. The ERDE companies have also set specific collection targets for other agricultural plastics such as nets, yarns and nonwovens. In addition, further crop plastics are to be included in the take-back and recycling system in future. For example, irrigation hoses, greenhouse films and protective nets are also to be integrated into the cycle by 2027. According to the information provided, the aim of the initiative is to establish a holistic recycling solution for all agricultural plastics.
 
Hoffmann was impressed and praised the initiative of the film manufacturers and farmers: "The ERDE initiative is making a major contribution to protecting our environment. The collection and recycling of used crop plastics is an important contribution to reducing plastic littering in the environment. The manufacturers and farmers in the ERDE initiative are now expanding their voluntary commitment to include further agricultural plastics and specific collection targets. With their commitment to finding high-quality recycling processes for all agricultural plastics, farmers and manufacturers are impressively demonstrating their responsibility for the environment." ERDE Managing Director Lorena Fricke emphasised: "Together with farmers and our partners from trade, contractors and disposal companies, we want to ensure that all agricultural plastics in Germany are collected and recycled. This closes material cycles and prevents plastics from entering the environment.“
 
The first voluntary commitment from 2019 was reportedly fulfilled. According to ERDE, over 68 per cent of silage and stretch films and over 41 per cent of asparagus films have been collected to date. The initiative has also enabled a total of over 645 collection points and 3,147 mobile collections for other crop plastics. In 2022, a total of over 38,467 tonnes of agricultural plastics were collected and 95% recycled.
 
In addition to the ERDE initiative, its umbrella organisation, the IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e. V., as well as the Deutsche Raiffeisenverband e. V., Agrarhandel e. V., the BLU Bundesverband Lohnunternehmen e. V., the Netzwerk der Spargel- und Beerenverbände e. V. and the Bundesvereinigung der Erzeugerorganisationen Obst und Gemüse e. V. have also signed the voluntary commitment. The BMUV is represented on the advisory board of the ERDE initiative and provides technical support for the activities.
 
Sources:

• BMUV press release (19.1.2024)
• Collage: © ERDE