Circular Farm Plastics Statement

Documents:

The project “CircularFarmPlastics – Circular Solutions for Farm Plastics in the Baltic Sea Region” is co-funded by the European Union and the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021–2027 (Priority 3: Climate-neutral societies, Objective 3.1: Circular economy).

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The project addresses a critical challenge in the Baltic Sea Region: agricultural plastic waste is poorly managed on farms, often contaminated, costly to collect, and difficult to recycle. Farmers, waste handlers, municipalities, private collectors, and regional/national policymakers need capacity building to transition from micro-plastic soil pollution and wasted resources to the circular management of plastics at farms. Currently, barriers like limited awareness, poor quality of collected plastics, and fragmented regulations hinder profitable recycling.

The project aims to:

CircularFarmPlastics aims at building cross-sectoral trust and cross-border networks to deliver practical, everyday waste-reduction tools and healthier soils directly to local farmers and rural communities.

By directly engaging farmers, waste collectors, municipalities, and policymakers through tailored training, open dialogue, and collaborative development the project contributes to building trust by fostering transparency, shared understanding, and mutual benefit among diverse stakeholders in the agricultural plastics value chain.
By addressing shared challenges, specific to the macro-region, like microplastic pollution due to the lesser biodegradability in the nordic soils, the project builds a common purpose that strengthens regional ties, the project contributes to initiating and sustaining networks vital to the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) by creating structured collaboration among farmers, waste handlers, municipalities, private collectors, and policymakers.
By improving soil health, reducing pollution, and creating cost-effective waste services, it delivers visible benefits that resonate with citizens’ environmental and economic concerns. The project fosters dialogue between communities and policymakers, ensuring that regional strategies reflect real-life needs and experiences.

The project will develop the following deliverables and output:

O1.2 Collection of transferable logistics and pre-treatment solutions for agricultural plastics: Documenting scalable models (e.g., on-farm compactors, mobile collection stations, and collection points) to improve the quantity and quality of plastics.
D 1.1 Visualised datasets on farm realities and logistics solutions: Highly visual datasets and infographics synthesizing farm realities and pilot data to provide an evidence base for strategic planning.
D 1.3 Farmer-centered guidance package for advisory on circular plastic management in farms: Visual manuals, trainers’ guides, and online modules to help regional/local authorities and NGOs advise farmers on cost-effective, high-quality waste sorting and storage.
D 1.4 Policy recommendations for circular agricultural plastic management: Actionable recommendations considering boreal climate specificities (such as the realities of “compostable” bio-plastics) to support EU, national, and regional policy development.

Project Duration: 01/07/2026 – 30/06/2028

The consortium brings together the following organisations from 5 Baltic Sea Region countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland:

Partner 1 (Lead Partner): County Governor of Vestland (Statsforvaltaren i Vestland)
Partner 2: Alytus Regional Waste Management Center (Alytaus regiono atliekų tvarkymo centras)
Partner 3: The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners North Savo (MTK-Pohjois-Savo)
Partner 4: Jamk University of Applied Sciences (Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu)
Partner 5: Estonian University of Life Sciences (Eesti Maaülikool)
Partner 6: Pärnu County Development Center (Sihtasutus Pärnumaa Arenduskeskus)
Partner 7: Foundation of Education and Social Dialogue “PRO CIVIS” (Fundacja Edukacji i Dialogu Społecznego “PRO CIVIS”)