DDT muster is paying off
A‘‘massive’’ 2.3 tonnes of DDT found at one farm is among dangerous chemicals being collected from rural properties.
The Great DDT Muster, a nationwide initiative, had so far collected about 17 tonnes of banned pesticides such as the banned DDT insecticide, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other chemicals from properties as farflung as Northland and Invercargill.
Canterbury farmers will have a chance to get rid of dangerous chemicals when it makes is way south next month. Run by waste management company 3R Group, the initiative was in its second round of collections.
3R Group manager Jason Richards said he was surprised at how many POPs were being booked for collection. ‘‘This is the second time the muster has done a sweep of the country, so we didn’t anticipate such large quantities of POPs still around in the countryside,’’ he said.
Regional councils had suspected that thousands of tonnes of contaminated waste were buried on farms each year.
Of that waste, chemicals had the worst environmental impact, Richards said. However, farmers would make use of services such as the muster, if they were made available, he said.
‘‘The main thing is these landowners are doing the right thing and getting rid of these chemicals safely.’’
Richards said DDT and other pesticides containing POPs had not been sold or used in New Zealand for many years because of long-term impacts on human health and the environment.
However, some properties still had them stored, either because the landowners were unaware they had them, did not know what to do with them or were unwilling to pay for collection.
‘‘From what we have seen many farmers were keen to do the right thing and disposed of unwanted chemicals safely. The rural sector just needed more options for disposal of waste,’’ he said
‘‘We have had some unusual collections. A massive 2.3 tonnes of DDT was found at one property while at another we had to crack open an old safe to reach the POPs stored inside.’’
Richards said the 2.3 tonnes of DDT was collected in the North Island in November.
The company also ran the ChemCollect service which collected and disposed of all types of unwanted chemicals.
‘‘Farmers use this service to safely get rid of chemicals such as expired stock, obsolete or banned products, industrial waste and byproducts,’’ he said
The chemicals collected as part of the Muster and ChemCollect were shipped to France for high temperature incineration, he said.
Financial support for the muster was provided through the Waste Minimisation Fund, administered by the Ministry of the Environment, as part of the government’s obligations under the Stockholm Convention.