With effect from 8 April 2024 must ReMidt IKS change its practice of receiving plastic from agriculture at all recycling stations. We are still working to offer an arrangement with local delivery, but we no longer have the opportunity to handle agricultural plastic everywhere, without this entailing a cost.

ReMidt IKS has accepted agricultural plastic without payment from agriculture through an agreement with Grønt Punkt Norge (the return companies), so that financially we have broken even when it comes to finances. In other words, Grønt Punkt has paid for our costs related to reception at our recycling stations. This is what is called the production responsibility scheme - those who send plastic to the market must also pay for the recycling of the same plastic when it becomes waste. There is therefore a separate environmental tax on, among other things, agricultural plastics, which goes towards this.

Renovation fees cannot be used on agricultural plastic

Grønt Punkt Norge, through one of its owners Plastretur AS, has chosen not to renew the agreement they have had with us and 60 other recipients of agricultural plastic across the country. Plastretur AS wanted to continue the nationwide scheme, but when Felleskjøpet Agri withdrew from the scheme, 60 per cent of the income base for the existing return scheme for Grønt Punkt Norge disappeared.

The legislation that applies to us as an inter-municipal company states that we are not allowed to accept, among other things, agricultural plastic, if we do not - financially speaking - break even. The income ReMidt IKS has, comes from waste disposal fees from private households, and in line with the regulations for self-catering, this fee cannot cover anything other than the actual expenses related to the reception, treatment and recycling of waste from households, and not from the business sector.

Four reception points

The environmental tax paid by the farmers must ensure free delivery to approved reception. ReMidt has agreed to be there in the future as well, but only in four places. Transport of the agricultural plastic is not covered by the environmental tax.

ReMidt cannot use the household fee to cover losses from business/agriculture. No household will be happy that the fee they pay goes to cover losses from agriculture - and it's not legal either, so it's not an option. Therefore, we have to reduce the number of reception points.

After Grønt Punkt terminated the agreement with us, we entered into a new agreement with NorSirk AS. We have done this because we want to reach out as far as possible for agriculture - it is not something we had needed to do, but which we think is important.

Extra offer with Retura Midt

Felleskjøpet Agri collects agricultural plastic free of charge from the farmer, once the plastic has been compressed. This happens through an agreement Felleskjøpet Agri has with NorSirk. Our agreement with NorSirk thus supplements this offer, so that the farmer can choose to drive the plastic himself to one of the approved receptions we have.

ReMidt also takes the initiative to put in place an agreement with Retura Midt AS, so that Retura can offer a solution that comes in addition to ReMidt and Felleskjøpet. There will necessarily be an arrangement where agriculture has to pay for the transport. How this solution will be will be agreed with Retura Midt AS in the coming weeks.

The new scheme applies from 8 April - then only agricultural plastic will be accepted at these recycling stations: Melhus, Orkanger, Averøy and Surnadal. Intermunicipal recycling companies in other parts of central Norway have already implemented changes when receiving agricultural plastic to apply to one or two locations. ReMidt IKS chooses to maintain reception at four recycling stations, although we would like to extend even further if we had the opportunity.

If there are questions about the change regarding the receipt of agricultural plastic, contact our customer center.