Key Takeaways
- Netafim’s Re-Gen Program recycles used drip lines and channels the plastic back into new seasonal and heavy-wall drip products.
- Drip lines containing recycled material have a 25% lower CO₂ footprint than equivalent products made only from virgin plastic.
- The share of drip lines with recycled content at Netafim rose from 15% in 2019 to 43% in 2024, with pipes increasing from 17% to 55% over the same period.
- More than 60% of recycled plastic now comes directly from the field via the Re-Gen Program, up from almost zero just a few years ago.
- “We treat plastics as an asset… something that we are not allowing ourselves to waste as a resource that we can regenerate,” said Ido Raanan, Global Product Manager at Netafim.
From Kibbutz Fields to Circular Irrigation Leadership
For Ido Raanan, the story of Orbia Netafim’s Re-Gen Program is closely tied to his own path in agriculture. Netafim, Orbia’s Precision Agriculture business, was founded in a kibbutz, and Raanan notes that he was “practically born and raised” there. As a teenager he worked as a farmer, later joining Netafim as a technician in 1998 after his military service.
Over nearly three decades, he moved through roles in production, R&D, and sustainability, eventually completing an MBA and taking on responsibility for the company’s circularity initiatives. That experience with field machinery and sustainability laid the groundwork for what is now the Re-Gen Program.
“Sustainability is in Netafim’s DNA… we used to say that sustainability is our mission and irrigation is our business,” he said.
Today, as Global Product Manager, he oversees both Netafim’s machinery portfolio and the Re-Gen circularity program worldwide.
Ido Raanan on Why the Re-Gen Program Was Created
Responding to Seasonal Drip and Farmer Constraints
The Re-Gen Program emerged from a practical challenge that many growers were facing as seasonal drip irrigation systems expanded.
Farmers operating under market uncertainty increasingly opted for seasonal drip lines, paying only for the current season rather than long-lived systems. At the end of each cycle, however, they were left with large volumes of used drip lines and no clear pathway for disposal or recovery.
“Farmers had to face uncertainties in the market, so they couldn’t invest too much and needed seasonal drip lines. But then came the question: what do I do with the drip line at the end of the season? We understood that this was our responsibility to give an answer,” Raanan explained.
Netafim’s response was to design a program that not only retrieves used drip lines but also returns their material back into new products, forming a closed loop that can repeat year after year.
How the Re-Gen Loop Works in Practice
Field Deployment and Retrieval
The Re-Gen Program has no fixed “start” point; it functions as a continuous cycle. In most markets, the loop begins when farmers purchase Netafim drip lines that are compatible with the program. Netafim provides guidance on deployment practices that make it easier to retrieve the lines at the end of the season.
At harvest, farmers extract the lines after three to six months in the field, depending on crop and conditions. Netafim and its machinery partners have developed equipment that coils drip lines tightly and relatively cleanly, minimizing the need for extensive pre-treatment before recycling.
Collection and Recycling Infrastructure
One of the main bottlenecks Raanan highlighted is infrastructure: moving used driplines from fields to capable recycling facilities. In high-volume markets such as the United States and Mexico, Netafim has built its own recycling plants. In other regions, the company works with third-party recyclers and sometimes invests in their equipment to meet quality requirements.
“Wherever we do not have enough plastic around, we will tend to find a local recycler that is equipped enough or knowledgeable enough to recycle our drip line. Then we work together with them to show the right process—how to grind it, how to wash it,” he said.
The material is then washed to remove soil, minerals, and organic residues, before being processed through extrusion to produce recycled pellets.
Re-Use in New DripLines
The recycled plastic is blended with virgin material and additives such as UV stabilizers. Netafim deliberately limits the percentage of recycled content in each product type to maintain performance, but some products now contain up to 60% recycled content.
Research conducted with the Technion in Israel showed that pipes containing recycled material can even demonstrate equal or better lifespan than those made only from virgin polymers, partly because of residual additives from the original product combined with a fresh additive package.
The resulting seasonal drip products are branded under lines such as Streamline X Re-Gen, and in some markets farmers receive a financial credit when they return used lines into the program.
Quality, Lifespan and Emerging Standards
Two Product Types, One Quality Framework
Raanan distinguishes between thin-wall seasonal drip lines, which are typically used for a single season, and heavy-wall driplines, which can remain in orchards or be redeployed repeatedly over many years. Both are recycled and both can contain recycled content, but they are managed differently in production.
Across all products, quality control is anchored in Netafim’s internal lab, led by a dedicated quality team. Over the years, the company has developed specific test protocols to ensure that drip lines meet defined lifespans.
“We know that if the material passes the tests, the drip lines can serve for the lifespan that they are aimed to,” Raanan said.
Cleanliness as an Industry Benchmark
One outcome of this work is a European standard for determining material cleanliness in recycled plastics used for drip lines. The standard, originally developed within Netafim and then shared with partners, helps ensure that impurities do not compromise pipe wall strength.
“It’s not only the additives and UV resistance; it’s also about cleanliness and not jeopardizing the strength of the wall of the pipe,” he added.
Measurable Impact and Farmer Feedback
Emissions and Material Flows
Raanan shared several key metrics from recent years:
- Drip lines containing recycled material deliver a 25% reduction in CO₂-equivalent emissions compared to equivalent virgin-only products.
- The share of drip lines with recycled content rose from 15% in 2019 to 43% in 2024.
- Pipes produced with recycled plastic increased from 17% to 55% over that period.
- Netafim surpassed 10,000–12,000 tons of recycled material in the last year.
- More than 60% of recycled content now comes from used drip lines returned from the field via the Re-Gen Program; the remainder is post-consumer material.
“Three or four years ago, this share from the field was almost zero. We’ve managed to shift it to around 60%,” Ido Raanan noted.
On-Farm Experience
In markets with higher sustainability awareness and tighter labor constraints—such as the United States, Australia, Brazil and Mexico—farmer feedback has been positive. Growers highlight time savings, reduced labor, and cleaner fields ready for the next planting.
In California, where farmers often manage three crop cycles per year, the limited turnaround time makes efficient retrieval particularly valuable. Raanan described a strong “wow effect” among farmers who have managed drip lines the same way for a decade or more and then see how quickly fields can be cleared under the Re-Gen approach.
In some supply chains, downstream buyers also recognize low-emission irrigation as part of their branding and certification efforts, supported by documentation from Netafim on reduced emissions.
Where Circularity Remains Challenging According To Ido Raanan
Despite the progress, the Re-Gen model is not yet universally viable. In some countries, recycling facilities lag significantly in terms of technology and process control. In others, geography and logistics are the limiting factors: for example, Raanan cited cases where fields are located thousands of kilometers from the nearest modern recycling plant, making transport costs prohibitive.
In response, Netafim has invested in field machinery, co-financed equipment for partner recyclers, and explored collaborations with governments to set up local collection hubs.
“Circularity cannot be done by one player alone. It must be a team effort along the chain, including government,” Ido Raanan said.
Collaboration, Policy, and the Road to 2035 According To Ido Raanan
Working with Competitors Under EPR Schemes
Raanan emphasized that Netafim is already collaborating with other irrigation companies under extended producer responsibility (EPR) frameworks. In France and Germany, national collection schemes for drip lines bring multiple manufacturers under the same rules, with each contributing an eco-fee and being incentivized to use recycled content through eco-modulation.
“Everybody is working together for the greater good of society… maintaining competition, but under the same rules and the same scheme,” Ido Raanan said. These schemes reach collection rates of 80–90% in some cases.
Ido Raanan Looking Ahead to 2035
Asked to project the future of the Re-Gen Program to 2035, Raanan expects stronger regulation around plastic waste and wider adoption of circular practices.
He pointed to global discussions such as UN-led plastic treaty efforts and groups of countries pushing for ambitious targets. Over time, he anticipates that more governments will adopt EPR-like models and that circular irrigation will become standard practice, driven by both regulation and economics.
“There is no way that the world will continue to overlook the issue of plastic waste… eventually governments will join, and all farmers will practice the same because it will make economic sense,” Ido Raanan concluded.
