Farmers living in or near 10 B.C. Interior communities will be able to dispose of unwanted agricultural pesticides and outdated livestock medications that have accumulated at their farms at special collection events that are being held at designated locations.
The collections begin Monday, October 15 in Vanderhoof at Glen Dale Agra, 1055 Highway 16 West, Oct. 17, Quesnel – Four Rivers Co-op, 1280 Quesnel-Hixon Road and in Kelowna at Grower’s Supply, 2605 Acland Road.
For Williams Lake, the collection will take place on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 153 Mile Fertilizer at 80 5101 Frizzi Road.
The events have been organized by Cleanfarms a Canadian non-profit organization that delivers recycling and disposal solutions that help farmers and their communities safely manage farm waste.
Other collection events are scheduled in the following locations:
Oct. 15, Kamloops – Purity Feed Ltd., 471 Okanagan Way
Oct. 16, Prince George – Foothills Landfill, 6595 Foothills Blvd. and Vernon – Grower’s Supply, 1200 Waddington Drive
Cleanfarms will accept materials at the events at no charge and will dispose of the materials collected safely and responsibly.
Each special collection event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Materials accepted in the Cleanfarms program include: old or unwanted agricultural pesticides (identified with a Pest Control Product number on the label), and livestock medications that are used in the rearing of animals in an agricultural context (identified with a DIN number, serial number or Pest Control Product number on the label.
The program will not accept: fertilizer, diluted solution, large quantities of unopened product, and treated seed needles/sharps, medicated feed, aerosol containers, premises disinfectants/sanitizers, veterinary clinic waste and medications, ear tags, and aerosols any other household hazardous waste.
The program is funded by the crop protection industry and the Canadian Animal Health Institute and operated by Cleanfarms.
An environmental stewardship organization, Cleanfarms works collaboratively with industry members, agricultural organizations and associations, and the government to ensure that Canadian farmers have opportunities to manage agricultural waste responsibly.
Last year, Cleanfarms collected 22,832 kg of unwanted pesticides and 1,470 kg of livestock and equine medications from farmers in B.C.
Questions about whether a product fits the scope of acceptable materials in this collection can be directed to 877-622-4460 or email Cleanfarms at info@cleanfarms.ca.
Following this 2018 collection, the program will return to B.C.’s Peace River region in 2019 and to Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley region in 2020.
Cleanfarms asks that farmers store unwanted pesticides and old livestock medications safely until Cleanfarms’ collection comes back to their region.
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