Provincial obsolete agricultural products collection campaign a success
April 13, 2010
News Release
Provincial obsolete agricultural products collection campaign a success
For immediate release
Guelph, ON, April 13, 2010 – Ontario farmers safely disposed of over 125,000 kilograms of obsolete crop protection and animal health products and used sharps in a province-wide collection blitz last fall. Last year’s collection marked the first time the well-established CleanFARMSTM stewardship program was expanded beyond obsolete crop protection products to include other agricultural waste streams.
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“Canada’s plant science industry is committed to safe, environmentally responsible practices. From lab to label, through storage and disposal, programs like this represent the industry's pledge to responsibly manage its products,” said Lorne Hepworth, president of CropLife Canada, the trade association representing the developers, manufacturers and distributors of plant science innovations and founder of the CleanFARMSTM program.
The Ontario CleanFARMSTM program, which ran October 20-22, 2009 at 16 collection sites across the province, collected over 123,000 kilograms of obsolete agricultural pest control products, 913 kilograms of unused animal health products and 1,057 kilograms of used sharps (needles, syringes and scalpel blades). Approximately 1,000 farmers participated in the program, with almost 70 percent bringing in crop protection products only, 15 percent bringing animal health products only and 16 percent bringing both.
“The response of the farming community to this collection program was tremendous,” says Paul Wettlaufer, a farmer and Chair of AGCare, a coalition of Ontario farm groups focused on environmental issues. “Farmers are responsible environmental stewards. We are committed to protecting the land and water, and programs like this are important tools to help us do that.”
The 2009 CleanFARMSTM collection was part of an Ontario government-supported Great Lakes Basin water quality initiative, which also included a feasibility study to examine long term, sustainable collection options. Pesticide collection programs in Canada have been run by CropLife Canada since 1998 and have collected and safely destroyed 1.4 million kilograms of product.
The 2009 Ontario CleanFARMSTM program was co-ordinated by AGCare with financial support from CropLife Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem and the Canadian Animal Health Institute. Other project partners included Ontario Farm Animal Council, Ontario Veterinary Medical Association and Ontario Agri Business Association. The project was also generously supported by staff and management at the agricultural retail outlets that agreed to serve as collection sites and by volunteers who assisted on-site during the collection.
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Nadine Sisk, CropLife Canada, 613-230-9881 Ext 3224
Crystal Mackay, AGCare, 519-837-1326