As the country celebrates World Environment Day today, it’s important to remember that protecting your environment starts in your backyard.
World Environment Day is a global day for positive environmental action. Since 1972, the day has grown to become one of the biggest days which promotes worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages attention and action.
But as Australians recongise the day, it’s important to remember that protecting the environment isn’t for just one day a year: it’s every day of the year.
Every day, thousands of farmers, growers and chemical users are protecting their environment by collecting their agvet chemical drums and returning them for recycling through drumMUSTER.
Every day, nearly a tonne of plastic and metal waste is collected through the program which is then recycled into new and useful things again, like plastic cable covers, wheelie bins and pipes.
And every day, for the last 14 years, drum users have successfully recycled 21 million drums, or 26,000 tonnes of waste, making drumMUSTER the most successful agricultural recycling program in Australia.
drumMUSTER National Program Manager Allan McGann said farmers rely on the program to recycle their used chemical containers that once held chemicals to treat weeds, pests and diseases.
“Almost every farmer in the country knows the drumMUSTER name and understands the good work the program provides,” he said.
“Every year, more councils join our cause and more farmers are returning their eligible and clean agvet chemical containers for recycling.
“This is a testament to the growing use of the program that we’re seeing across the board.”
Allan said more drumMUSTER operations in South Australia, West Australia and Tasmania are going permanent.
“This means farmers can drop off their drums throughout the year instead of waiting for a nominated day,” he said.
In Queensland, the program continues to see increased rises in drum returns. While in Victoria and NSW, charities, CFAs, Lions’ Clubs, P&C groups, sporting clubs and Landcare groups are joining drumMUSTER to help improve the quality of life and environment in their local communities.
drumMUSTER rewards groups by paying them 25 cents for each drum they inspect. Containers need to be inspected by trained inspectors to see if they’re clean and dry before being processed and recycled.
Today, more than 760 drumMUSTER sites operate around Australia, which are managed by councils, local community groups and waste management collectives.
Allan said the program wouldn’t exist without the support of the thousands of volunteers and waste holders who use drumMUSTER.
“It just goes to show how far we’ve come and the progress we’ve made in such a short period of time,” he said.
“Farmers know and recognise our signature brand and continue to use the service because they know how important it is to keep their farms clean and ensure a sustainable future.”
For any further information on the drumMUSTER program, call 1800 008 707.