The greenhouse and nursery industry uses an estimated 35 million pounds of plastic film that must be disposed of each year. As the cost of oil increases, the price that recyclers are willing to pay for this discarded plastic has been increasing. A check of the internet shows recyclers are paying from $0.06 to $0.12 per pound depending on the cleanliness of the plastic. It is estimated that hand removal of plastic costs growers 20 to 60 cents per pound and as much as 50 cents per pound for trucking and tipping fees to dispose of it. Keeping it clean, sorting and baling it has allowed some growers to break even or realize a small profit since some recyclers are willing to pay for large quantities of recycled film.
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