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RECYCLING OLD CHEMICAL CONTAINERS &REMOVING WASTE CHEMICALS

INTRODUCTION In the early 1990s there had been a number of incidents in the agvet chemical industry – in particular a fire in Bowen. Green groups such as ‘Friends of the Earth’ were gaining political recognition in Canberra and within the industry there was a real concern that the government would tie it up in red tape to the extent that it would threaten its viability. There was corporate concern that the irresponsible activity by the perception of the cowboy in the bush and consequences with potientally hazardous chemicals might threaten the whole industry. This led to the establishment of Agsafe training in 1992 and premises accreditation in 1994. Compliance is enforced through an ACCC authorized trading sanctions process.

In the early ‘90s there were enormous piles of used agricultural and veterinary farm chemical containers building up on farms and in rural tip sites. Containers were also being burnt, buried or ending up in creeks and dams. 1990 Senate Select Committee Inquiry on Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals recommended a national strategy be developed for the safe and effective disposal of farm chemical containers. 1996 Avcare pilot large-scale container collections in the Wimmera of Victoria.

An Industry Waste Reduction Scheme agreement was signed in 1998 between: National Farmers Federation (NFF), Avcare (now Croplife Australia Ltd and Animal Health Alliance), the Veterinary Manufacturers and Distributors Association (VMDA) and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA).

The manufacturers started paying a levy in 1998 with the official launch of drumMuster in 1999. Chemclear started in 2004. AgStewardship Australia Limited brings the IWRS partnering organisations together to collect and administer the levy and to oversee the two programs. Agsafe Limited is contracted by Agstewardship Australia to deliver drumMUSTER and ChemClear on its behalf .

Google earth image of the same site.

Vernon Keighley

STH NSW/VIC GIPPSLAND CONSULTANT

0406 745 030 vfkeighley@bigpond.com

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What is drumMUSTER?

drumMUSTER is a national environmental industry stewardship program under the industry waste reduction scheme (IWRS) for the collection and recycling of cleaned eligible non returnable crop production and animal health product chemical containers. The majority of chemical manufacturers, currently 100, participate in the drumMUSTER program.

The drums eligible for the drumMUSTER program have a dM logo either embossed into the container or it appears on the product label, drums sizes (steel or plastic) range from 1L to 205L. These drums attract a 4c per Lt or Kg levy at the point of sale (20L container=80c per drum). The levy funds the whole drumMUSTER program Australia wide. There is no government funding supporting the program. In September 2012. Tthe 20 millionth drum was collected into the drumMUSTER program Australia wide, with the saving of 25,000 tonnes of drums not going into landfill since inception of the program in 1999.

A defined route for disposal

AGSAFE

AGSTEWARDSHIP

AUSTRALIA

DISTRIBUTION

USER

COUNCIL/

COLLECTION AGENCY

MANUFACTURER

COLLECTION

RECYCLING DISPOSAL

COLLECTION

CONTRACTOR

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HOW DOES drumMUSTER WORK?

100 Manufacturers; 13 Croplife, 9 AHA and 78 generic companies.

767 active sites provided by 452 local councils and 89 other agencies including the Sports Turf Association at Strathfield Golf Club.

Chemical users pay a 4 cents/lt or kg levy when purchasing products in eligible containers from participating manufacturers.

The essential reimbursable functions of the Collection Agency are to:

Promote their collection service

Inspect and accept only correctly cleaned, eligible chemical containers.

Store the clean containers in a secure compound (funded by drumMUSTER) until they are removed for processing.

Contact a drumMUSTER approved processor to remove collected containers for re-use, recycling or disposal by other environmentally approved methods.

Typical costs reimbursed out of the drumMUSTER levy include: construction of secure collection compounds, costs associated with providing training for inspectors, training wages for trained staff to inspect containers at collection centres, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for use during the container inspections, promotion of collection days and materials recovery contractor charges for container processing.

The plastic is recovered by the recycling industry and used to make such things as concrete reinforcing bar chairs, agricultural drainage pipes, tomato stakes and posts. Steel containers go through the metal recycling process.

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HOW IS drumMUSTER GOING?

10/11 Australia, drums 2,053,922

11/12 Australia, drums 2,199,471

Drums since 1999 21,013,453

Tons of material not landfilled 26, 016

Sydney Basin 2008-2013

Year to date for this financial year 7,955 drums, well on track to significantly exceed last year’s result

and more than double that of 2010/11! STA has collected 7,023 drums since December 2007 at

Strathfield Golf Club.

HOW TO USE drumMUSTER? All sports turf chemical users are encouraged to bring their empty, properly cleaned, non-returnable, steel and plastic chemical containers to any of the sites in their area for inspection and collection. Have a look at the collection finder on the website to find the nearest site or the Sydney Basin collection map (overleaf). There are also services available in the Sydney Basin provided by Maxwell and Kemp (for their customers) and Sydney Weed and Pest Management (there may be a fee), which will come out to you and pick your drums up. Eligible containers should have the drumMUSTER logo, if in doubt bring them anyway. Oil and pool chemical containers are not accepted. Remember all drums must be as clean as possible both inside and out with lids removed (they may be brought separately). Dirt, embedded stains and a small quantity of rinse water is acceptable. Preferably containers should be allowed to drain or air dry to ensure they contain no rinse water. (in line with the “Agsafe Standard for Effective Rinsing of Farm Chemical Containers” brochure available from chemical retail outlets). Advice on cleanliness will be provided at the collection if you are not sure, however remember that unclean or partly filled containers will not be accepted and will remain the property of the chemical user.

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WHAT IS ChemClear?

ChemClear® is an industry stewardship program which is funded to collect currently registered agricultural and veterinary chemicals at the end of their life cycle, or, when they become surplus. Unwanted chemicals can be disposed of through the ChemClear program using the free call number 1800 008 182.

HOW DOES ChemClear WORK? ChemClear is delivered under an established three year contract with Chemsal, which has been

the service provider since the programs implementation. There is an option for an extension of

the contract every 3 years. The company is based in Melbourne and has a depot in Sydney. It is

subsidised by drumMUSTER funds & separate contribution from member companies

Group 1 Chemicals Group 2 Chemicals

Group 1 chemicals are collected free of charge under the program, these chemicals are currently registered ag and vet chemicals manufactured by companies supporting the Industry Waste Reduction Stewardship initiative.

Chemicals that are no longer registered, unknown, unlabelled, out of date, or mixed ag and vet chemicals.

A fee applies for disposal, which currently range from 80c to $35.00 dependent upon the chemical. These fees are set by our national contractor Chemsal Pty Ltd and are quoted by them to the waste holder for the waste holders consideration.

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HOW IS ChemClear GOING?

Group 1 and 2 Totals L/Kg

• Over 350 tonnes retrieved across all

states and territories

• Approx 77,000 tonnes currently

booked, of which 23,500 tonnes is

Group I

• A mixture of chemicals that people

bring in – this is a typical ute load

0.00

50,000.00

100,000.00

150,000.00

200,000.00

250,000.00

300,000.00

350,000.00

400,000.00

QLD NSW VIC TAS SA WA NT ACT Total

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HOW TO USE ChemClear?

There are six steps to the program:

Step 1: Take an Inventory of your unwanted ag and vet chemicals

Step 2: Register them for collection

Step 3:Continue to store your registered chemicals safely and securely

Step 4: ChemClear® will contact you direct to advise the location for retrieval

Step 5: Prepare for delivery to collection site

Step 6: Deliver chemicals

This is a copy of the registration fax back form available on the Chemclear website, some resellers,

by calling the CC national office on 02 6230 4799 or from your regional consultant Vernon Keighley

0406 745 030, vfkeighley@bigpond.com

• Yellow sticker Group 1, Red sticker Group 2.

• Stickers are provided to waste holders once a registration is made. These stickers provide

the waste holder with their Registration Number and the contact details to check on their

registration.

• These stickers also ensure that chemical containers are identifiable as a waste and a waste

awaiting collection under the ChemClear program. They also assist in sorting Group 1 and

Group 2 classifications in a timely manner at the collection points.

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