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Oregon-based Agri-Plas has a new process for converting unwanted agricultural plastics into crude oil, which it then ships off to a commercial refinery.

Agri-Plas takes unwanted or discarded agricultural plastic that has too much dirt on it to be considered for normal recycling, according to a press release.

chokes landfills or is abandoned, burned or buried on Northwest farms and nurseries, and is converting it back into synthetic crude oil.

Plastic products that are recycled include:

• dirty agricultural film
• greenhouse cover
• mixed nursery and jug material
• prepackaged food containers and lids
• other low- or zero-value plastics that are dirty.

Agri-Plas recently delivered its first full tanker (8,200 gallons) of oil to a refinery.

As of now, Agri-Plas operates a single plastic-to-oil converting unit. The company says it will add three more units, and will do business as Agri-Plas2Crude. In April,  Agri-Plas2Crude plans to add to its capacity by breaking ground on a new facility. Eventually, the firm aims to create enough reclaimed crude oil to deliver a full tanker to refineries daily.

Global Resource Corp. is another company involved in turning plastics to oil.

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