The waste management group responsible for coordinating drumMUSTERs across the Grampians area have collected more than one million drums.
The Grampian Regional Waste Management Group oversees drumMUSTER collections across four Victorian councils including Horsham Rural City Council, Northern Grampians Shire Council, Ararat Rural City Council and Yarriambiack Council.
The Grampians RWMG councils have collected a combined total of 1,029,889 drums. That amount equals 1229 tonnes of waste avoiding landfill since 1999.
Grampians RWMG Executive Officer Kerrie Tomkins said the combined enthusiasm of farmers and efforts by council and community groups has led to the success of the milestone.
“Our role is to encourage council staff to complete the drumMUSTER training and also encourage the transfer operators to do the same,” she said.
“This combination makes sure farmers are aware of the program. Awareness is important.
“Councils are a general key contact for most people. In my experience, people generally look at our website or contact council to find where to drop off their drums.”
Victoria drumMUSTER Consultant John Knight said the achievement goes to show the important role organisations like Grampians RWMG have in facilitating drumMUSTER.
“They work with councils and groups to make sure the program is running smoothly,” he said. “The services they provide are invaluable to farmers and other chemical users looking to do the right thing and get rid of their empty drumMUSTER eligible containers.
“It is important for farmers to return their empty clean chemical drums to any of the various drumMUSTER cage locations across the region. It is a free service.”
John said community groups in the region also play a part in the success of the program across the four shires.
“There are five community collection groups conducting drumMUSTERs in the waste region. These groups have collected 92,900 drums which have returned $23,225 to their communities.”
To find you nearest drumMUSTER site, visit drumMUSTER.com.au for our Find a Collection Site map.
Since 1999, drumMUSTER has collected more than 23 million drums nation-wide. That represents more than 28,000 tonnes of waste avoiding landfill. Once collected the waste and is recycled into new and useful things again, like plastic cable covers, wheelie bins and pipes.
How each council faired:
Ararat Rural City Council: 1218 deliveries, 161,629 drums collected. 200 tonnes of recycled waste.
Horsham Regional City Council: 2339 deliveries. 236,587 drums. 274 tonnes of recycled waste.
Northern Grampians Shire Council: 708 deliveries. 96,875 drums. 125 tonnes of recycled waste.
Yarriambiack Council: 4094 deliveries. 534,798 drums. 630 Tonnes of recycled waste.
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