Keeping trash out of wool

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 260, 25 October 1988, Page 5

Keeping trash out of wool

'Keeping the clip clean' is the aim of a display organised by the Wool Board's control region wool production officer, Owen Petrie.

The display shows an assortment of jandals, bale hooks, grinding discs, bones, towels, clothing and even pois that are among the items found in wool bales. Known in the industry as "contaminants", foreign bodies in wool bales can have disastrous consequences when wool is processed. Owen cites one example where a piece of twine contaminated 150 bales of wool. The cost of remedying this was $5000. Another example was a towel which managed to shred it's way through 353 bales of wool, and resulted in a damage claim of $47,300. Then followed the hundreds of hours picking the towel out with tweezers. That's not all of it, there are more "horror" stories from processors. The Board wants growers to be aware of the problem and to know how they can stop rubbish contaminating their wool. "The Board is showing growers that accidents can happen and that almost anything that happens to be lying around the woolshed can get into wool bales," says Lance Wiggins, the Board's wool production manager. The displays also reinforce one of the Board's key messages to woolgrowers: keep the clip clean. Woolgrowers can do a lot themselves to prevent

rubbish getting into the bales by instructing shedhands, and keeping a close eye on what finally goes into the bale. "Rubbish gets in by accident, but a lot of these "accidents" can be prevented from getting into wool bales by following a few simple house-keeping rules, for example keeping the woolshed tidy and having adequate rubbish bins around the woolshed," Lance says. According to Owen, the displays have been very effective in getting the right message across to growers. "The bottom line is that keeping a clip clean means millions of dollars to New Zealand in every season," says Petrie.