Northern Territory’s agvet chemical users can now return their empty and clean agvet chemical containers for recycling thanks to a new agreement with a local council.
Litchfield Council has signed on to host the brand new drumMUSTER site at their Humpty Doo Waste Transfer Facility.
The new community service will provide a simple solution for farmers and other chemical users to dispose of their eligible agvet chemical containers used in their operations in the surrounding regions.
drumMUSTER is free to farmers thanks to a 4 cents per litre/kilogram levy they pay on eligible products made by chemical companies who have signed onto the drumMUSTER agreement.
Litchfield Mayor, Allan McKay said he welcomes the drumMUSTER service at Humpy Doo Waste Transfer Station.
“This free service offered to local farmers and other chemical users plays a huge part in protecting our local environment,” he said.
“It is safer and cleaner solution to our local farmers.”
drumMUSTER’s National Program Manager, Allan McGann said Litchfield Council will join the hundreds of councils across the country who provide the service to rate payers.
“drumMUSTER is an essential community service for a lot of regions. Farmers, pest control operators and other chemical users will benefit from having a regular service to offload drums that are becoming an environmental problem on their land,” he said.
“With a few small to medium farming operations, along with a few large melon farms, in the council region, there’s guaranteed to be drums just waiting to be returned and recycled.”
The new site will be run with the help of the NT Farmers Association, who recently signed on to take over the drumMUSTER and ChemClear services across the territory.
NT Farmers’ Association CEO Grant Fenton said the arrangement is the best outcome for NT Farmers’, drumMUSTER and Litchfield Council.
“It’s a win-win for everyone involved,” Grant said. “We can reach potential new members by promoting services like drumMUSTER, which means we’re also promoting the NT Farmers Association.”
Grant said NT Farmers will be tasked with coordinating meetings with councils, organising drum pick-ups and promoting drumMUSTER and ChemClear to pastoralists.
He said unlike other regions where drumMUSTER contracts individuals to service the program, NT’s drumMUSTER will be represented by a body of invested farmers.
“It’s not being represented by a single person. The association represents the farming industry which is our target market for drumMUSTER,” Grant said.
Collections will be held on the 1st, 15th and 29th of October between 9am – 3pm. For more information contact the council on (08) 8983 0652.
All containers presented at the collection must meet the programs cleanliness standards. Containers must be free of any chemical residue. To find out more information on rinsing requirements visit the drumMUSTER website.
Since 1999, drumMUSTER has collected more than 22 million drums nation-wide. That represents more than 27,000 tonnes of waste avoiding landfill and being recycled into new and useful things again, like plastic cable covers, wheelie bins and pipes.
For further information on the drumMUSTER program, call 1800 008 707.