Helping hand to farmers as ChemClear heads to Queensland
ChemClear is forecasting a record breaking collection when it heads to Queensland this year.
The collection, due to run through May and June, will be ChemClear’s sixth visit to Queensland.
National Program Manager Lisa Nixon believes that the totals will surpass all previous collections undertaken in the state.
“We have had a lot of interest already from primary producers and other agvet chemical users who have registered over 25 tonnes of surplus stock over the
last 12 months for disposal. We are expecting this figure to rise above 35 tonnes when the booking line closes for this collection,” Lisa said.
The program is calling on all waste holders in Queensland to register their unwanted chemicals for the collection.
This year’s collection is partly funded by the QLD Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. The funding will be used to subsidise the costs to
primary producers registering their out of date, deregistered and unknown agvet chemicals through the ChemClear program.
“As an industry program we are very pleased to again work with Government to collect and dispose of potentially dangerous agvet chemicals from Queensland
communities,” Ms Nixon said.
Chemicals which display the drumMUSTER logo are eligible for free collection and disposal under the program. Chemicals that are not eligible however, can
also be registered for disposal. Non-eligible chemicals are those manufactured by non-participating companies, unlabelled, deregistered, out of date
or mixed products. The funding available will help subsidise a proportion of the costs involved in disposing of these chemicals
Ms Nixon added that the program supports those agvet chemical users that have paid the 4c per litre drumMUSTER levy to dispose of chemicals at the
end of their life cycle.
“Up until 2003, there was no program available for Australian farmers to deal with disposal of surplus chemical waste. ChemClear has since provided the
levy payers a safe, environmentally friendly route to appropriate disposal,” she said.
“We don’t want to see these chemicals gathering dust in storage sheds. We encourage farmers and businesses to manage their stocks and dispose of their
unwanted chemicals so that they can meet audit requirements or qualify for strict quality assurance or workplace safety programs,” she said.
“Financially, there really hasn’t been a better time to register your surplus chemicals for disposal and get them off your properties,” Ms Nixon concluded.
Farmers and other chemical users have until Friday, March 27, 2015 to take advantage of this run before the booking line closes.
To date, ChemClear has collected a total of 141,600 L/kg of hazardous chemicals for safe disposal from QLD and 455,000 L/kg nationally. Ninety eight
per cent of the chemical collected is used as an alternative fuel source in the manufacturing of cement. The majority of chemical collected is
destroyed in kilns which reach temperatures in excess of 1800°C.
To register your unwanted chemicals for ChemClear’s next run, call the hotline on 1800 008 182 or visit www.chemclear.com.au
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