Better be safe, not sorry with chemicals

Take an inventory and book unwanted agchems for collection.

When it comes to agrichemicals, 'safe' is definitely better than 'sorry'.

Floods, earthquakes and other events have shown that storing unwanted chemicals is an unnecessary risk, particular when free or subsidised disposal is on offer.

Farmers, growers, contractors and other users of agrichemicals are being urged to book disposal of their unwanted or expired chemicals with Agrecovery Rural Recycling before the end of May.

"It's all about reducing risk," says Jason Richards of 3R Group, programme managers for Agrecovery.

"Safe collection and disposal protects people, stock and the environment against unwanted contact or spills, and with the service being largely free of charge, it's a good chance to clean up.

"We can even help with 'unknown' products - those that are no longer in their original packaging or have no labels."

Unwanted chemicals on farm.

Funding is provided by 65 manufacturers and distributors who support good stewardship of their products at end-of-life through the Agrecovery programme. Combined with contributions from Waikato Regional Council, most unwanted agrichemicals, animal health and dairy hygiene products can be collected and disposed of at little or no charge.

"Over the last eight years we have collected more than 100,000 kg of agchems from the rural sector," says Mr Richards. "Typically we hear from farmers who are leaving a property and need to get rid of expired products, or new owners who find unknown chemicals in sheds.

"There is also a large portion of users who simply don't want to leave unwanted chemicals lying around. They want them safely disposed of."

"While we can't guarantee all booked chemicals will be free or subsidised, our funding tends to cover the majority of bookings, so it's definitely worth making that booking."
To take advantage of the collection, users of agrichemicals should book these by May 26 via the Agrecovery website.

More than 19,000 kg of agrichemicals have been collected from the Waikato region since the programme started, making up around 17 per cent percent of the national volume.

"Despite the large volumes collected over the years, we know there are still properties with unwanted chemicals," says Mr Richards. "We'd like to see those farmers and growers follow their neighbours' lead and book them in for our upcoming collection."

Agrecovery Chemicals is easy to use, safe and fully compliant. It offers a fully auditable record of disposal which farmers and growers can use for New Zealand GAP and other quality assurance programmes.

To book collection or find out more visit www.agrecovery.co.nz