To assist farmers and other agricultural and veterinary chemical users in the Southern and Central West regions that have been impacted by recent flooding, Agsafe, in collaboration with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), is holding an extra ChemClear run to collect damaged or affected chemicals in these regions.
Eligible councils are in Southern and Central West NSW in natural disaster declared local government areas Australian Government Reference Number 1030 and 1034.
As with other ChemClear campaigns, agricultural chemical holders from these areas will need to pre-register by clicking on this link or going to www.Chemclear.org.au and following the NSW Flood links.
This ‘Flood Run’ is a short, sharp campaign to remove agricultural chemical products that have been impacted by the flood and can no longer be used.
This is a free service for both drumMUSTER eligible products and for non-drumMUSTER products thanks to Commonwealth and NSW Government assistance. The campaign has been partly funded by a grant from the NSW EPA through the joint Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
NSW EPA Executive Director Steve Beaman said support for the program was part of ongoing work to clean-up flood impacted areas in NSW.
“The recent floods caused widespread devastation across the southern and central west regions of NSW. In some instances, agricultural chemicals, such as fertiliser and pesticides, were moved or damaged by the floodwaters,” Mr Beaman said.
“This ChemClear campaign is designed to enable the safe and secure removal of flood impacted agricultural chemicals from farms and out of rural communities at no cost to people who register, to help reduce any potential environmental impact.”
Agsafe General Manager Dominique Doyle said this collection of flood impacted agricultural chemicals will assist in the recovery process following the floods.
“This initiative is one step towards recovering from these floods, and Agsafe is thrilled to partner with NSW EPA to enable the removal of obsolete flood impacted chemicals off farms and out of rural communities.”
There are some eligibility requirements which will be further specified during the registration process.
As this is a short campaign, participants should register flood impacted chemicals rendered obsolete as soon as possible by visiting the website at www.chemclear.org.au for further details. As much detail as possible should be provided on the flood impacted chemicals to allow for correct segregation on collection.
The registration form and the confirmation of delivery of products can be used for Quality Assurance or Best Management Practice programs if required.
Registrations close on Sunday 12 February The ChemClear run will commence after this date. Registrants will be contacted with an indicative collection date.
To ensure there is limited risk associated with the drop-off of affected chemicals and containers, registrants will be required to follow the directions of council staff and all PPE should be worn when handling the products.