There is some excellent news at hand for South Australian farmers and other ag vet chemical users, with the ChemClear program making its long-awaited return to the state after a three-year absence.
A comprehensive collection run is planned for late May and early June, with the retrieval truck all set to visit many council sites on its extended ‘milk run’. SA has not had a state-wide visit since its first state collection in 2008 and hopes are high for a successful venture this time around.
ChemClear is a national industry stewardship program that combines with local councils to help users safely dispose of their obsolete or surplus ag vet chemicals. These chemicals are classified as either group one or group two. Currently-registered chemicals fit into the group one category and are accepted free of charge under ChemClear, while group two involves products that are unlabelled, unregistered or over two years in expiry or de-registration and include a fee-per-litre for disposal.
There was a grand total of 8,366 litres of chemical disposed of during the 2008 collection, with the majority of the product received coming from the group two category. With the latest round of registrations under way, the total figure is currently sitting around the 13,450 mark.
National Program Manager Lisa Nixon has been the driving force behind ChemClear and she is looking forward to a successful SA collection and ultimately a boost in group one retrievals.
“We have received high numbers of registrations in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland and we have serviced these states according to this demand,” she said.
“With South Australia we have had very low registrations of Group one chemicals, which are the products that our program is funded to collect. With some extra communications directed to the state coupled with some changes in agriculture in some regions, we are seeing a rise in registrations on our booking line for our service. Chemical users in SA are paying the levy when purchasing their chemicals, so we need to provide them with a service.
“We find that farmers and other chemical users are relieved to deliver their chemicals to the ChemClear program. They know that our service provides them with a safe and environmental way of dealing with their on farm chemical waste. We are happy to help and are hoping to make a real impact this year”.
The Barossa Council will be one of the host sites throughout the collection and representative Ian Gillies will be working hard to help locals safely dispose of as many chemicals as possible.
“We’ll be looking to set up our depot at The Barossa Council Works Depot, which is where we held the collection last time ChemClear visited,” he said.
“It’s a great idea, quite a few of the farmers and vineyards in the local area are often looking for a place to dispose of their old chemicals and this is a big help to them.”
The ChemClear collection vehicle will collect from any council area that a registration has been made from so get in and register for this collection in your region by calling the hotline on 1800 008 182 or for further information, head online at www.chemclear.com.au.