The illustrative embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for managing drip tape (614). A vehicle (600) is configured to move across a field (616). A drip tape collection system is associated with the vehicle (600) configured to raise a portion (613) of the drip tape (614) from the ground in a field (616). A chopper (604) is configured to separate the portion (613) of the drip tape (614) received from the drip tape collection system into a plurality of pieces (618) and enable the plurality of pieces (618) to decompose.
