Nova Scotia farmers return more than 10,000 kilograms of obsolete pesticides and livestock medications

HALIFAX, March 14, 2016 /CNW/ - Farmers in Nova Scotia returned 9,789 kilograms of obsolete and unwanted pesticides and 305 kilograms of livestock and equine medications through CleanFARMS' obsolete collection campaign in 2015.

CleanFARMS, which operates the program, is a national, industry-led agricultural waste stewardship organization. Collections took place at 12 participating ag-retail locations throughout Nova Scotia from November 2–13. This is the fourth collection program CleanFARMS has run in the province.

This marked the first time that a combined collection of pesticides and livestock medications has been offered in Nova Scotia. CleanFARMS partnered with the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI) to add the collection of livestock and equine medications to CleanFARMS' existing obsolete pesticide collection program.

"The CleanFARMS collection program provides farmers with an environmentally responsible way to dispose of unused or expired pesticides and livestock medications," said Chris van den Heuvel, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture. "Farmers in Nova Scotia are committed to protecting the environment and the high number of participants is just another example of our efforts."

Nova Scotia farmers have a long history of good stewardship practices. Since 1998, Nova Scotia farmers have returned more than 54,000 kilograms of obsolete pesticides.

"We are pleased with the success of this program in Nova Scotia," said Barry Friesen, CleanFARMS' general manager. "Nova Scotia farmers' continued dedication to the obsolete collection program proves their commitment to protecting the environment and making responsible decisions on the farm."

The obsolete collection program is generally delivered in each province or region of the country every three years and comes at no cost to farmers. The program will return to Nova Scotia in fall 2018. In between collections, farmers are encouraged to safely store their unwanted pesticides and livestock medications until they can properly dispose of them through the program.

The obsolete collection program is part of the plant science and animal health industry's commitment to the responsible lifecycle management of their products.

For more information, please visit www.cleanfarms.ca.

SOURCE CleanFARMS Inc.

Jillian Bender, media relations, [phone] x 3228, [email protected]