When one thinks of the agricultural industry, plastic waste is not the first thing that comes to mind. But the reality is that plastics play key roles in the farming and greenhouse business and leaves behind much waste every year.
As an example, just in the United States, the agricultural plastics generation is estimated to be GB£816 million. And most of that is not recycled, ending up in the ground or landfills, often impacting wildlife and the environment negatively. A positive trend, though, is the move toward more eco-friendly, biodegradable products - which are fully compostable and will leave behind no waste.
One company committed to this type of product and leading the way toward a more sustainable future is ARaymond Agriculture, a global firm headquartered in Spain which produces a wide range of eco-friendly clipping and fastening solutions for the greenhouse and agricultural industries. Oriol Peiris, digital marketer at ARaymond Agriculture, said the company first ended its use of virgin plastic and committed to using 100% recycled plastic. Then, ARaymond developed a new line of biodegradable fastening solutions for agriculture.
“We saw the market was willing to have eco-friendly products, and wanted to make our contribution to this movement, which will only keep growing,” Peiris said. “Our biodegradable clips for greenhouses were first introduced four years ago, and the line has seen major growth in the past two years, especially across Europe (France, Holland), where there is a larger appetite for this type of innovation.”
Production of both the recycled plastic and biodegradable solutions is done by ARaymond in Spain. ARaymond is an industry pioneer in the production of fully certified compostable and biodegradable clips for greenhouses, which they tested by putting the clips in sand for 40 weeks to confirm they would completely disappear.
ARaymond also supports international environmental initiatives such as Tree-Nation and The United Nations Global Compact. Being eco-friendly has its challenges though, especially with the biodegradable solutions being developed by ARaymond and others. For example, humidity and temperature changes in the greenhouse environment can cause some fasteners to break if not developed properly, increasing the cost of production.
“ARaymond wants to save the land. We want to save the wildlife. With compostable products, we want to help save the earth,” said Walt Cherneski, ARaymond Agriculture North American sales engineer at ARaymond. “We try to lead with innovating at the product level and be ahead of the curve. We have invested in these products even though it’s more expensive to make them. We believe in the importance of developing sustainable agriculture as a response to all the critical environmental problems which the world is facing today.”
Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills, fastener manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies, Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners.
Alongside visiting numerous companies, exhibitions and conferences around the world, Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry.
