Chemical drum recycling is booming in Bundaberg after the region collected its biggest haul of containers through drumMUSTER this financial year.
Latest drumMUSTER results show sites in the Bundaberg Regional Council collected 71,797 drums through the national agvet chemical container recycling program. That’s more than 18,000 drums on the year before.
Queensland drumMUSTER Consultant Colin Hoey said drum numbers in the area have risen by more than 30% in just under a year.
“Congratulations to the local growers who have embraced the program possibly better than anywhere else in Australia,” he said.
“On-farm options and strategic depot location give the local farmers every opportunity to recycle their drums. I would expect the great results to continue in the Bundaberg Regional Council area.”
He said farm collector Peter Radel, the official Dump Rat for the Bundaberg region, has inspected and transported more than 43,000 drums on his own for the year.
“The season is going well for drum collecting,” Peter said. “At least 5-6 different farms have joined this year. They’ve just gone crazy I don’t know if it’s the rain or what!”
“It stays out of landfill that’s for sure. Where I take them to the processor, they bale them up and send them off to be recycled into new products.”
All drums received are processed locally by recycler Impact, Make Your Mark, before heading further afield to be manufactured into recycled plastic products such as drainage pipe, concrete supports and wheelie bins.
To date the council has collected 336,000 drums since the program’s first collection at Meadowvale in 1999.
12/09/2012