Australia’s agvet chemical container recycling program drumMUSTER has been relaunched in Emerald.
Allan McGann, drumMUSTER’s National Program Manager, said the Central Highlands Regional Council is one of hundreds of councils across the country who provide the service to ratepayers.
“drumMUSTER is an essential community service for a lot of regions. Farmers and other chemical users benefit by offloading drums that are becoming an environmental problem on their land.”
The Lochlees Landfill, which is located on Lochlees Road in Emerald, receives drums every Monday to Friday 8am–5pm and Saturday 8am–12pm. No bookings are required.
To mark the relaunch of the collection site, the council will be holding a special drumMUSTER collection afternoon on 18 November 2015 from 12pm–4pm for farmers in the region to deliver their empty drums.
Any questions about delivery or rinsing can be answered by Regional Consultant Colin Hoey, who will be present on the day, along with a group of recently trained council inspectors.
The number of single trip drums being used by farmers is declining due to the increased use of returnable packaging arrangements for 110 litre (enviros) and 1,000 litre (IBCs) containers. Unfortunately, there is also growing evidence to suggest that some farmers are once again burying or burning their drums.
We encourage farmers not to become complacent by diverting small amounts of drums into the on-farm tip or by burning them along with other farm waste. Take the opportunity to use the drumMUSTER service and dispose of your drums off-farm, as you go.
Farmers who use drumMUSTER tend to have a much more organised approach to waste management. Some farmers have even become very progressive, refusing to dispose of any farm or household waste on their farm.
Since 1999, drumMUSTER has collected more than 26.5 million drums across Australia, including 4.8 million in Queensland.
drumMUSTER would like to thank the Central Highlands Regional Council for their ongoing support of the program.
For further information about the program, call 1800 008 707.