Hope Gruzlovic
(609)292-8896
hope.gruzlovic@ag.state.nj.us

New Jersey Agriculture Secretary Art Brown, Jr., reminded growers that NJDA's greenhouse and nursery film collection and recycling program will begin February 15 and run through September 1 at four collection sites in Atlantic, Burlington, and Cumberland Counties. "This will be the fourth year for this important program and growers have been anticipating the start of the 2000 effort for several weeks," Brown said. "Our growers are stewards of the land and they realize bundling the used film and transporting it to the collection sites is time well spent because of the amount of valuable landfill space the program frees up." Brown noted that publicizing the program this early in the season enables nurserymen to plan in advance how they will manage the film when it's time to remove it from hoop houses. "By following NJDA's written collection and bundling guidelines, growers can assure themselves that the material will be readily accepted at the collection sites," Brown said. Brown added that adherence to the guidelines also makes it easier for the collection sites to market the used film that's collected. "Our nurserymen and greenhouse operators have developed good quality control programs and our recycled film is very clean so our recycling sites have been very successful in marketing the film," he said The four recycling sites are the Atlantic County Utilities Authority in Egg Harbor Township; the Occupational Training Center Westhampton, Burlington County; the Cumberland County Improvement Authority in Deerfield Township; and East Coast Recycling in Millville, Cumberland County. Both white and clear films used in nurseries for over-wintering plants, as well as clear multi-season (two-year, three-year and four- year) greenhouse covers can be recycled. The used film must be free of lathing, staples and saran tape. Loads containing other agricultural plastics, such as bags, mulch film, shrink film, stretch film or ground cover, will be rejected at the collection site. In 1999, over 331,000 pounds of film were collected, a 15 percent increase over 1998. New Jersey's greenhouse and nursery growers remove and dispose of almost one million pounds of film each year. Since NJDA implemented the film collection program in 1997, over 1.1 million pounds of film has been recycled and kept out of New Jersey's landfills. Thanks to an existing grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, NJDA will be able to reimburse recycling centers for part of their costs based on the volume of film recycled by New Jersey growers. For more information or copies of the Growers Collection and Bundling Guidelines, contact NJDA at 609-984-2506; e-mail karen.kritz@ag.state.nj.us; call the New Jersey Nursery & Landscape Association at 609-291-7070 or AT Plastics, 1-800-661-3606; or download information from the news release section of the department's web site.

• Film must be rolled into manageable bundles for ease of loading and unloading in accordance with the NJDA's Grower Collection and Bundling Guidelines.
  If grower chooses to tie the bundle (not required), the tie MUST be made of greenhouse film.
  Material MUST be free from all debris including wood, shrink wrap, nails and any other material foreign to said film.
  
• Film which is dirty or not properly prepared will be rejected.

EAST COAST RECYCLING ASSOCIATES
Millville Industrial Park
1801 Eden Road
Millville, New Jersey
(856) 327-8888
Contact: George Glenn Hours of operation: Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Tipping Fee: $5.00 per ton Drop-off requirements:

• Film should be bundled and tied (the tie MUST be made of greenhouse film) OR placed in boxes or pallets.
  Material MUST be free of any debris including, but not limited to, wood, stone, dirt, etc.
  Film which is dirty or not properly prepared will be rejected.
  
• All deliveries must have a weight ticket for the material to be recycled.

ATLANTIC COUNTY UTILITIES AUTHORITY
6700 Delilah Road
Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey
(609) 272-6950 or 1-800-613-ACUA
Contact: Brian Lefke Hours of operation: Monday - Friday 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Tipping Fee: $10.00 per ton Prior to delivery of the film, all growers MUST call the ACUA to establish an account. In addition, growers using a licensed solid waste hauler MUST inform the ACUA prior to delivery in order to maintain proper billing and documentation. Growers with current disposal accounts in good standing with the ACUA may charge their existing accounts. Drop-off requirements:

• Film must be bundled and tied (the tie MUST be made of greenhouse film) or placed in boxes or pallets.
  Material MUST be free of any debris including, but not limited to, wood, dirt, stone, etc.
  
• Film which is dirty or not properly prepared will be rejected.

BURLINGTON COUNTY OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
Occupational Training Center of Burlington County
130 Hancock Lane
Mt. Holly, New Jersey
(609) 267-6665 ext. 163
Contact: John Brosky Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday 8 am - 3 pm
Tipping Fee: $10.00 per ton (cash and checks only) Drop-off requirements:

• Film must be bundled and tied (the tie MUST be made of greenhouse film) for ease of loading and unloading in accordance with the NJDA's Grower Collection and Bundling Guidelines.
  Material MUST be free of any debris including, but not limited to, wood, dirt, stone, etc.
  
• Film which contains any material other than nursery or greenhouse film will be rejected by the collection site.

• Film should be cut just above the lathe board in order to insure that no staples or wood are commingled with the film.
  The film MUST be rolled. For ease of handling, the film should be rolled up as soon as it is removed from the structure. The rolled film must be no wider than 4-5 feet (like a sausage). It may be necessary to cut the length of the film for ease of handling (see diagram).
  The bundled film MUST be tied and ONLY the same type of film in the roll should be used to tieit. DO NOT use twine, wire, non-nursery/greenhouse film, etc. If anything other than nursery/greenhouse film is used to tie the bundled film, the load will be rejected. See sketch for bundling procedure options A & B.
  Every step should be taken to avoid picking up excess soil when the film is removed from the structures, rolled, stored or prepared for delivery to the regional collection site.
  Only nursery and greenhouse film will be accepted at the regional collection sites. No bags, mulch film, shrink film, stretch film, or ground cover film will be accepted.

• Film MUST be free of foreign material: lathing, wood, staples, paper, stone, saran tape, etc. Any loads which contain material other than nursery or greenhouse film will be rejected by the approved collection sites.