Farmers register chemicals for collection

Almost 40,000 L of obsolete agvet chemical have already been registered by farmers, rural businesses, golf courses and other ag chemical users for this year’s ChemClear collection in Queensland.

The national collection program of agricultural chemicals is now on track for its planned state-wide collection run to commence in June.

Farmer Reg Andison said he had no other way of safely disposing of the chemicals he inherited after buying his small property in Bowen five years ago.

“I found these really old chemicals in the shed I had no use for. I didn’t know what they were,” he said. “The property used to grow mangoes, but I had no interest in that.”

Reg said he had used ChemClear once before while working for a government research facility. He decided to register for this year’s collection after seeing a story in his local paper.

“ChemClear has been easy and a great experience,” he said. “It’s just so environmentally friendly. There’s no other avenue for them and it also saves you from having to bury them.”

ChemClear is an industry stewardship program which collects and disposes eligible agvet chemical products from 99 participating manufacturers.

These chemicals are collected free of charge thanks to a small levy applied to eligible products by the manufacturers and passed onto the consumer at the point of sale.

The program also collects non-participating manufacturers’ products, unlabelled, unknown, severely out-of-date and mixed chemicals under a per litre charge.

ChemClear’s National Program Manager, Lisa Nixon, said Queenslanders should register their chemicals now or face waiting until the next collection.

“In sheds across the country, there are containers and bottles of chemicals that property owners have inherited, no longer require or have simply forgotten about,” she said.

“Many of the chemicals we see coming into our collection sites are unwanted due to changes in farming practices over the years.

“I encourage all property owners to check their sheds and register any unwanted agvet chemicals before our registration line closes on 19th April.”

This year’s collection will be ChemClear’s fifth in the state, with the last five runs retrieving more than 112 tonnes of obsolete agvet chemical for safe disposal.

About 98% of chemicals collected by ChemClear are used as an alternative fuel source in the manufacturing of cement. Most of the material is destroyed in kilns which reach temperatures in excess of 1800°C.

To register for the next collection or for further information, go to www.chemclear.com.au.