| | This fall, a three-year partnership program began in Alberta to remove old pesticides safely off farms. The 2002 Peace River Region Operation CleanFarm program is part of a Canada wide obsolete pesticide collection and disposal program that was first introduced in 1998. To date, 455 metric tonnes of obsolete agricultural pesticides have been collected coast to coast through programs in Atlantic Canada, Saskatchewan, Ontario and most of British Columbia.
"Through Operation CleanFarm, we’re offering farmers an opportunity to safely dispose of outdated, unusable and obsolete agricultural crop protection products," explains Janet McLean, Provincial Manager of Pesticides and Wastes with Alberta Environment. "There is no cost to farmers for disposal, they just have to deliver the unwanted product to program collection sites." Products should be returned with labels in place. Leaky containers, or containers in poor condition should be put in another leak-proof container prior to transport.
Operation CleanFarm only accepts unwanted, obsolete pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and rodenticides. Products such as antifreeze, solvents, treated seed, veterinary drugs, fertilizers or empty pesticide containers will not be accepted. A contractor is retained each year to provide the collection and disposal services for Operation CleanFarm. After the collection dates, the contractor will collect drums containing unwanted pesticide products from the dealer collection sites and transport them to the Swan Hills Treatment Centre in Alberta.
Alberta’s Operation CleanFarm is a three-year program. "We’ve split up the collection process in Alberta over three years because the massiveness of the project makes it too much to administer in one year," says Shaffeek Ali, Head of Pest Risk Management Unit with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. Collections will be extended to the central part of Alberta in 2003 and the southern area in 2004. Farmers who miss the program in their area can take accepted products to program collection sites in other areas.
Operation CleanFarm
"We expect to see high participation from the farmers," says Ali. "In the whole recycling business, Alberta is very progressive. Pesticide container return rates are among the highest in the country." In future, program organizers anticipate fewer products being stored on-farm. "Farmers can return any unopened product to their dealers immediately for credit, and some use custom applicator services," says McLean. "Farmers who end up with some opened product left over may have a dealer who is also a custom operator who may be able to use up the product, eliminating the need for storing opened products. A neighbour may also be able to use leftovers."
Farmers who participate in the program will be asked to complete a survey to help program managers get a better idea of what products are being disposed of, where they came from and how old they are. "If we find from the results that all of the products are really old, this suggests that the problem may be taken care of," says McLean. "But if there is a mix of old and new products, and farmers are ending up with product at the end of the season, then we have to relook at the system." The goal for the future is to find ways to help farmers from accumulating leftover pesticide concentrates on-farm.
"Down the road, we would like to look at the possibility of expanding the Operation CleanFarm program to include other hazardous products," says McLean. The current program budget is for pesticide concentrates only. Treated seed, for example is not accepted, but is a huge problem. Some treated seed is very toxic, it’s bulky, landfills don’t want it and it’s dangerous to livestock, wildlife and birds who are attracted to it. "The industry is really supportive and this whole collection program is really industry driven," says McLean. "We will be working with them to see if there may be future opportunities to expand Operation CleanFarm to other areas."
Alberta’s Operation CleanFarm is a collaboration of government, industry and the agricultural community with the twin goals of environmental and health protection. CropLife Canada, the Canadian association of pesticide manufacturers is contributing 50 percent of the program’s cash costs. The other 50 percent is funded by the Agriculture and Food Council’s Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development fund. More information is available at: Operation CleanFarm website.
For more information, contact:
Janet McLean
Shaffeek Ali
Alberta Conservation Connection - Issue 18, Fall 2002 |
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