At Agsafe, the role of stewardship is not just about the responsible disposal of a product at the end of life, but rather the safe and responsible management of a product over the whole life cycle of the product.
Agsafe was established in 1993 by the chemical manufacturers to deliver these outcomes in Australia. Chemicals, by the nature of their purpose, can be dangerous.
Agsafe’s stewardship programs ensure safety along the supply chain for agvet chemicals from the point that these products are manufactured or imported into Australia, and then distributed through the supply chain to the farm gate – as well as post-use, with the recycling of the packaging, or the safe disposal the residual product at the end of the useful life.
Australia’s longest running agricultural stewardship programs has reached a significant milestone, with the collection of its 40-millionth agvet chemical container for recycling. This equates to over 44,000 tonnes of plastic agricultural waste that have been diverted from landfill or have been burnt or buried on farms.
Agsafe’s drumMUSTER program, which held its first collection in 1999 at Gunnedah, is a product stewardship program that has saved councils an impressive $39 million in landfill costs, by diverting eligible, empty and clean chemical containers to recycling.
The industry-led program is funded by participating chemical manufacturers to ensure their agvet chemical containers have a responsible end-of-life solution and are genuinely recycled.
Agsafe’s general manager Dominique Doyle says drumMUSTER was one of the first product stewardship programs established in Australia. “It is now internationally recognised as a leading example of how the agricultural industry and individual farmers and communities can work together to provide a recycling pathway for agvet chemical containers.”
It is through collaborative efforts that Australia’s oldest product stewardship program continues its success, with 831 collection sites operated by 356 councils and over 107 other community-based collection agencies around the country.
“As a voluntary program, the drumMUSTER product stewardship program has adapted to fit the needs of councils, farmers, retailers and manufacturers of the chemicals. We have a flexible approach to collections, this includes engaging with over 100 community organisations to not only maximise collections, but also provide great fund-raising opportunities, with over $5 million raised,” Ms Doyle said.
For farmers, utilising the drumMUSTER and ChemClear programs ensures they are adhering to certain requirements of their respective Quality Assurance (QA) or Best Management programs (such as Freshcare which audits fresh produce producers to ensure food safety).
By participating in Agsafe’s programs, chemical users are provided with compliance documentation that validates they are meeting their responsibilities for on-farm waste management of chemicals and used containers.
Agsafe’s leading Agsafe Industry Standards program assists agvet reseller premises throughout Australia to understand their responsibilities around the safe transport, storage and handling of agvet chemicals through the supply chain. This includes supporting product stewardship of agvet chemicals and their containers by promoting the drumMUSTER and ChemClear programs to their customers.
Agsafe chair, and CEO of Adama Australia, Darrin Hines said of the drumMUSTER 40 million containers milestone: “I am very proud to be a part of a genuine solution to what used to be considered a waste problem. Congratulations to drumMUSTER on reaching the 40 million milestone.”
Agsafe seeks Qld facilitator
Agsafe is seeking an experienced facilitator and trainer with extensive experience and product knowledge to work alongside and to support Agsafe members in Queensland and northern NSW.
This role will assist members in navigating the complex and detailed regulatory environment for managing dangerous goods and hazardous agvet chemical products.
Agsafe facilitators are experienced in agricultural industry operating environments and the safe storage and handling of agvet chemical products, quality assurance and risk management.
The successful candidate will be comfortable in delivering face to face training to small industry cohorts several times per year with the possibility of conducting online webinar training.
Visit the Agsafe website (news section) for further information.
Note that the current Queensland facilitator, Wayne Sear remains a valued and contributing member of the Agsafe facilitator and training team.
He will continue to focus and support Agsafe’s Quality Assurance program and other member initiatives providing an even greater benefit to Agsafe’s member services.
