With the rapid development of planting techniques using plastic film mulching, the content of residual plastic film in soil increases year by year, which pollutes the soil and water, endangers the growth of crops and reduces the quality and yield of agricultural products. Therefore, in order to solve the problem that plastic film with a thickness of 0.008 mm, commonly used in China, is difficult to recycle, this study designed the residue film recycling machine based on the existing research results. After harvesting cotton in Xinjiang, the working performance of the residue film recovery machine of plough layer was measured. Through theoretical optimization and field experiments, the effects of conveyor speed, distance between elastic teeth and type of elastic teeth on residual film recovery were studied. The relationship between the parameters of the residual film recovery machine and the recovery effect of the residual film was analyzed. When the rotational speed and inclination angle of the conveying and separating device were 74 rpm, 35° and 120 rpm, 45°, respectively, under the condition that the distance between C-shaped elastic teeth was 59 mm, the recovery and separation rate of residual plastic film were 88.12% and 83.27%, respectively. Based on the study results, it is recommended to accelerate the development of naturally degradable agricultural plastic film or to popularize and apply thickened film. Relevant local standards and policies have been formulated to address the problem of residual film pollution, and a governance system has been established for the benefit of the government, scientific research institutions, enterprises and farmers. This study provides a reference for mechanized recovery of residual plastic film in soil and treatment of soil pollution.