With the booking line for the West Australian collection closing on 22 April 2016, now is the perfect time to register your obsolete agvet chemicals.
Over 7,000 litres of obsolete chemical has already been registered by waste holders in the state, including farmers, rural businesses and golf courses.
“Registrations for this year’s collection are growing with the booking line busy with chemical users keen to utilise our service,” said National Program Manager Lisa Nixon.
“I urge everyone to check their sheds and storages and be proactive in registering unwanted chemicals for safe collection and disposal.”
ChemClear sends information to waste holders after they have registered, enabling them to segregate and continue to store their surplus chemicals in their storages securely until the planned run commences in June.
The program collects APVMA currently registered chemicals produced by 121 manufacturers supporting the Industry Waste Reduction Scheme. Chemicals classified as Group 1 are collected free of charge.
As an additional service, ChemClear collects what is classified as Group 2 chemicals. This category covers deregistered, out-of-date, mixed, unlabelled or unknown agvet chemicals produced by a manufacturer not signed to the ChemClear stewardship program.
There is a cost for disposal of Group 2 chemicals which is quoted to the waste holder once their registration has been processed.
Farmsafe WA Alliance Project Director Maree Gooch encourages all chemical users to participate in the program.
“Jump on board and register – the booking line is open until 22 April, which is often a key trigger date for grain growing farmers to begin seeding. Don’t leave it to the last minute.”
She also added, “We hear horror stories about people burying chemicals if they are out-of-date as they don’t want to be penalised. Programs such as ChemClear only visit every few years – the last collection was in 2012 – so it is important to access support when it’s being offered.”
To date, ChemClear has retrieved and disposed of over 61,640 litres of chemical from three state and three regional collections in Western Australia. Nationally, ChemClear has collected a milestone 523,000 litres.
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 1,800°C.
To register for the WA June collection, please take an inventory of your product and call 1800 008 182 or visit www.chemclear.com.au.
It is recommended that waste holders do this as soon as possible as registrations close on 22 April 2016.