The ChemClear program recently made its long-awaited return to South Australia and chemical users were delighted to jump on board.
An industry stewardship service implemented in 2004, ChemClear helps participants dispose of their unwanted, obsolete or inherited chemicals in their local shire area. This particular state-wide run followed on from the collection undertaken in 2008 and travelled a grand total of 4,438 kilometres, starting in Minnipa and ending in Mount Gambier.
Chemical registered on the program’s booking line is separated into two distinct categories. Group one chemicals are currently-registered products from participating manufacturers and are accepted free of charge, while group two involves chemicals that are unlabelled, unregistered or obsolete, and include a fee-per-litre for disposal.
Just over three thousand litres of group one chemicals were collected for safe disposal from 44 waste holders, while the figure for G2 products was just shy of the 4,000-litre mark, thanks to contributions from 35 users. National Program Manager Lisa Nixon said that while she was pleased to be able to lend a helping hand in SA, a few issues may have prevented the collection from scaling even greater heights.
“Since the program’s inception in 2004, ChemClear has prided itself on its ability to lobby state government departments to provide adequate funding support for primary producers disposing of hazardous and costly Group 2 chemicals,” Ms. Nixon said.
“The service is predominantly out there to collect participating manufacturer’s chemicals, which are classified as group one and while we do collect group two chemicals, we have not been able to secure funding from SA for any of our past collections which means we see a large drop-off in registrations once quotations are received due to the significant disposal costs.
“Because we know a lot of farmers out there are doing it tough, we have allowed a number of users to remain registered on the booking line in the hope that we are able to turn this situation around before the next collection is held in SA.”
One farmer who took part in the collection was Langhorne Creek resident Jenny Venus, who was able to dispose of a massive amount of chemicals.
“We dropped off our chemicals at Strathalbyn, we took in two utes and a trailer worth of chemical, which would have been spread over four properties and we also ended up being able to empty a large shed as well,” she said.
“We’re very happy to get rid of the chemicals and we always remind everyone we know not to have chemicals they don’t use on their property!”
Bill O’Regan from the Fleurieu Regional Waste Authority was a proud supporter of the service, helping to arrange the hosting of two sites host site for local users.
“ChemClear is a valuable, relevant service to all of its users and it’s important that the community has a way to get rid of their old chemicals,” Mr. O’Regan said.
“We were happy to help and look forward to doing so at the next collection!”
To find out more about ChemClear, call 1800 008 182 or log onto www.chemclear.com.au