Dairy Cattle are an integral part of the immense American dairy industry.
Milk for consumers is usually packaged in either cardboard paper cartons, which can be recycled by most municipalities, or in plastic bags, which are usually disposed of in landfills.
Our European neighbours have perfected the sophisticated process or recycling post- consumer plastic bags bags, such as empty milk bags.
Companies such as Purus Plastics use a series of specialized equipment to recycle the milk bags into densified plastic pellets that are used to make high quality building materials. The various building products are made from 100% recycled post-consumer plastic bags and are widely used for many applications.
Ecoraster is one such building product.
Purus Plastics has been manufacturing Ecoraster for over twenty years and is one of the most successful porous plastic grid systems in the world.
There are many uses of the Ecoraster grid system.
Specifically for the Dairy Farming community, Ecoraster can be used in many ways to affordably help the farmers solve frequent problems and concerns.
Ecoraster can be used in sand stalls as a permeable, drainable base that allows the farmer to dramatically reduce sand usage on a continual daily basis.
Purus North America recently did an installation for a Dairy farmer in Ontario, Canada. Before the Ecoraster grid was installed, the daily stall sand usage was 40 lbs. Following a fast and easy installation of the locking grid squares, the sand usage was immediately down to 17 lbs per stall per day. The customer was thrilled with the finished product and the immediate cost savings. The cattle are unable to separate or disturb the Ecoraster base. A one-time installation will save the farmer maintenance time and money for many, many years to come.
Ecoraster can also be used in areas of heavy traffic or poor drainage to eliminate mud.
Ecoraster reinforces the ground in a permeable manner and eliminates the compaction of the soil which leads to mud. Ecoraster is widely used in farm settings around feeding areas, gate areas, paddocks, equestrian riding arenas and high usage areas where soil compaction is an ongoing problem.
Reducing mud keeps the animals dry, clean and healthy. The farm is kept mud-free and bugs are kept to a minimum. The ground is kept level and stable, minimizing the concern of tripping, by the use of the drainable Ecoraster grid system.
What a perfect cycle….from the cow's milk, to the plastic milk bag. The bag is recycled providing specialized plastic that is then used to make Ecoraster. Ecoraster is used by the farmers to save money and time and keep the animals healthy and happy.
A truly symbiotic relationship that is hard to duplicate.
12.1.2014
