When it comes to food production, plastics are usually involved through the whole cycle and make our lives easier, more efficient, and tastier.
For years, plastic use in agriculture has helped farmers increase crop production, improve food quality, and reduce their environmental footprint. Using plastic in farming can help to save water, to maintain a certain temperature under the crops’ covers during the night and even allow for crops to be planted in desert areas.
It can also help retain rainwater in plastic reservoirs, and things like plastic irrigation pipes can help prevent a waste of water and nutrients. Greenhouses made of plastic are also great to help reduce the use of pesticides.
Another common use of plastic in farming is on plant pots and trays. HIPs is the most common plastic used for these as it is a durable stiff plastic, which means plants can be pushed out ready to plant.
Plastic can also work well as mulch and it’s ideal for so many applications; it is easily deployed, easy to remove and is very long-lasting. For the uninitiated, mulch is used to insulate and maintain a constant temperature and humidity in the soil it covers, and to prevent weed growth and soil erosion from weather conditions. Farmers use plastic mulch to this end by covering their plots of land in strips of it and then poking seeds through the thin material. In dry and arid climates, plastic mulch is very valuable in the constant fight against evaporation. Once used the plastic mulch is removed from the fields and can then be recycled.
Euro Extrusions Ltd is a market leader in the plastic extrusion industry, supplying clients with a large range of products including thermoplastic sheet and film. Euro Extrusions has worked on a wide range of projects across a number of industries and is backed by ISO 9001 certification.
Based in Lancashire, Euro Extrusions manufactures roll and sheet High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS), ABS and Polypropylene. HIPS sheet, HIPS rolls and HIPS film, along with other vacuum forming plastic, and thermoformed plastics are used in many industries and techniques from Vacuum Forming and Thermoforming, to Point of Sale Display, CNC cutting and the building industry. Euro Extrusions works with and produces both virgin and recycled plastics, also offering clients a plastic waste recycling service.
