Pesticide stewardship program returns to Saskatchewan

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

A program to collect and safely dispose of unwanted and obsolete agricultural pesticides will return to Saskatchewan in 2007. Collection dates are planned for October 23 to 25.

According to Wayne Gosselin in Environmental Policy with Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, the last province-wide sweep of Saskatchewan occurred in three phases in 1999, 2000 and 2001. More than 156,000 kilograms of obsolete pesticides were collected.

The program was run as a joint initiative involving the federal government, the provincial government, and industry. “We all quite enjoyed the program,” Gosselin said. “Everybody found their place and pitched in, and the effort delivered terrific benefits. People were bringing stuff out that was 20 years old.”

This year, the program will be run as a three-day province-wide blitz, again involving government and industry stakeholders. Agricultural producers will be able to dispose of outdated, unusable and/or no longer registered agricultural crop protection products.

“We’re expecting that another 100 to 150 tonnes of pesticide could come out again,” Gosselin said.

Crop protection products destined for disposal will be accepted at designated certified Agrichemical Warehouse Standards Association collection sites throughout Saskatchewan. “I expect there will be around 50 collection points, with the idea being that most areas of the province would be somewhere within 50 kilometres or so of a drop-off site,” Gosselin said.

The pesticides collected will then be disposed of at environmentally safe facilities approved by Saskatchewan Environment.

CropLife Canada is the industry umbrella group that represents the manufacturers and distributors of crop protection products. Under its mandate of “working responsibly to protect people and the environment,” it is cost-sharing the initiative with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada so that it can be delivered at no cost to producers.

“We are pleased to be part of a program that provides farmers with a safe, effective and cost-free way to properly dispose of unwanted products,” CropLife Canada Vice President of Stewardship Cam Davreux said.

“This program is a great example of how government, grower organizations and industry can work co-operatively towards a better environment.”

Unwanted and obsolete agricultural herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and rodenticides will be collected at the drop-off sites, but other products such as antifreeze, solvents, paints, and treated seed will not be accepted.

Details of the program, including a list of collection sites, will be publicized through an extensive advertising and direct mail campaign closer to the collection dates. Agricultural dealers across the province will be provided with a list of collection sites and additional information to assist farmers in identifying obsolete products. All pesticides will be accepted, including those without valid Canadian Pest Control Act numbers. For safety reasons, however, all containers must be labelled.

“Please make sure containers are leak-free and a pesticide name is written on every container,” Davreux said. “If you no longer know what the pesticide is, label the container ‘pesticide unknown.’”

For more information, ask your farm supply dealer; phone the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.


For more information, contact:

Wayne Gosselin, Environmental Policy and Strategic Planning
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Phone: (306) 787-6586
E-mail: wgosselin@agr.gov.sk.ca