Producers can drop off old or unwanted ag pesticides (identified with a Pest Control Product number on the label) as well as livestock/equine medications (identified with a DIN number, serial number, notification number or Pest Control Product number on the label). 

The program only accepts specific products but not ones such as fertilizer, diluted solutions, treated seed, medicated feed, aerosol containers and premises disinfectants and sanitizers.

There will be 20 collection sites in southern Alberta Oct. 25-29. Details on the exact drop-off locations will be posted closer to the event dates.

For more details on what can be dropped off, go to cleanfarms.ca.

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That’s on par with 2019 numbers. Last year’s collection brought the total number of jugs recovered for recycling since the beginning of the program in 1989 to more than 137 million.

Placed end-to-end, that number of containers would stretch around the world at the equator 1.3 times. Plastic containers are recycled into new products such as farm drainage tile.

In the Prairie provinces, a growing number of farmers are using grain bags as temporary storage for cereal grains. In Saskatchewan, where recycling grain bags is regulated under a provincial program, the amount returned has doubled to 2,536 tonnes since the inception of the program in 2018. Of the farmers who use grain bags, 59 per cent report they recycle them.

The combination of grain bags, baler twine and ag-film collected in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba added up to about 6,900 tonnes since these materials started to be collected in Cleanfarms-operated pilot projects.

“Our goal is to help farmers reduce the amount of waste generated behind the farmgate, and to offer programs that help farmers fuel the circular economy by recycling instead of having to landfill these materials,’ said Cleanfarms general manager Barry Friesen.

A pilot program to collect seed, pesticide and inoculant bags in Alberta will take place again this year, and a pilot program to collect bale wrap and silage plastic is currently underway in Lethbridge County. In the fall, there will be a collection of unwanted pesticide and livestock/animal medications in southern Alberta collection events.

Information about Cleanfarms programs in Alberta and recycling locations will be available shortly at cleanfarms.ca (click on the Program by Province link).

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The organization, which has offices in Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan, has hired environmental scientist Davin Johnson for the Lethbridge operation.

Johnson grew up in Alberta and has worked for the past decade in the oil and gas, academic, government and ag sectors. He has helped to organize Cleanfarms’ unwanted pesticide and livestock/equine medication collection program and the newly launched ‘Alberta Ag-plastic. Recycle it!’ pilot program that has 20 locations throughout the province to collect grain bags and twine for recycling.

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For year one of this three-year pilot, Cleanfarms has established 20 collection sites throughout the province. Most are currently taking rolled, tied grain bags of any size, and twine for recycling. Some, however, just take grain bags and a few take only twine.

A full roster of collection locations and what they take can be found on cleanfarms.ca. The website also has instruction on preparing materials for recycling.

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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/equine medications used in rearing animals in an agricultural context (identified with a DIN number, serial number or Pest Control Product number on the label).

It does not accept items such as fertilizer, medicated feed, or premises disinfectants.

For details and a list of locations, go to cleanfarms.ca and click on the ‘What to Recycle & Where’ pulldown menu.

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The voluntary stewardship program in Prairie communities currently recovers about 65 per cent of the smaller plastic containers (23 litres or smaller) that are placed on the market each year.

“We’ve been able to increase the recovery of empty containers thanks to Canadian farmers and more than 1,000 ag-retail and municipal collection sites across the country,” said Barry Friesen, Cleanfarms general manager. “In 2018, we recovered nearly 5.8 million containers, a 14 per cent increase by volume over 2017.”

Nearly 1.4 million of those containers were collected in Alberta — which was second only to Saskatchewan in the number of jugs collected for recycling.

To mark its 30th anniversary this year, Cleanfarms has set a goal of 100 per cent recovery.

“We’re asking farmers who use these products to follow best practice and recycle every one of the empty containers when they’re finished with them,” said Friesen. “It’s a big ask but we know Canadian farmers are keen stewards of their land and are committed to environmental responsibility when it comes to how this packaging is managed.”

Recovered agricultural plastics are recycled into new products such as farm drainage tile, flexible irrigation pipe, and garbage bags.

Since its founding, Cleanfarms has expanded its recycling program by collecting plastic farm waste materials such as empty seed, fertilizer, and pesticide bags; silage wrap; large pesticide and fertilizer drums and totes; twine; and grain bags.

There are nearly 150 locations in Alberta where jugs can be dropped off and nearly 200 collections sites in the province for drums and totes. This fall, Cleanfarms will be collecting unwanted pesticides and livestock medications in northern Alberta.

For a list of collection sites, guidelines on how to recycle (such as triple rinsing jugs), and other information on Cleanfarms, go to cleanfarms.ca.

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Obsolete or unwanted agricultural pesticides (identified with a Pest Control Product number on the label) will be accepted. Livestock medications that are used by primary producers in the rearing of animals in an agricultural context (identified with a DIN number, Ser. Number or Pest Control Product number on the label) can also be disposed of.

If you are unsure whether your product fits the scope of this collection call 1-877-622-4460 (ext. 2223) or visit the CleanFarms website.

Peace Region collection sites:

Sept. 21

• Crop Production Services, Fort St. John
• Dunvegan Ag Services, Rycroft

Sept. 22

• Richardson Pioneer, Dawson Creek
• Richardson Pioneer, Manning

Sept. 23

• UFA, Fairview
• Crop Production Services, High Prairie

Central Alberta collection sites:

Oct. 3

• Central Alberta Co-op Ltd., Innisfail
• Edberg Crop Management, Edberg
• Crop Production Services, Westlock
• Lacombe Parkland Fertilizers, Lacombe

Oct. 4

• Richardson Pioneer, Provost
• Alliance Seed Cleaning Association, Alliance
• Parkland Fertilizers, Lacombe
• Neerlandia Co-op, Barrhead

Oct. 5

• Andrukow Group Solutions, Saint Paul
• Richardson Pioneer, Lavoy
• McEwen’s Fuels and Fertilizers, Athabasca
• Crop Production Services, Camrose

Oct. 6

• Crop Production Services, Vermilion
• North Corridor Co-op, Thorhild
• Leduc Co-op, Leduc
• Andrukow Group Solutions, Wainwright

Oct. 7

• Sturgeon Valley Fertilizers, Legal
• Andrukow Group Solutions, Viking
• UFA, Drayton Valley
• Crop Production Services, Lloydminster

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The program, which took place at 20 participating ag-retail locations in southern Alberta in October, was the third CleanFARMS collection in the province, but the first to accept both pesticides and livestock medications.

“It demonstrates our industry’s commitment to safely managing animal medications throughout their life cycle,” said Jean Szkotnicki, president of the Canadian Animal Health Institute, which partnered with CleanFARMS for the dual collection.

In the last southern Alberta collection in 2012 more than 66,000 kilograms of product were collected and safely disposed of.

The 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 be delivered in the northern half of Alberta in the fall of 2016. In between collections, farmers are encouraged to safely store unwanted pesticides and livestock medications until they can properly dispose of them through the program.

For more information, visit cleanfarms.ca.

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The program is run by Cleanfarms, a national industry-led agricultural waste-stewardship organization. The obsolete pesticide collection program has been operating since 1998 and since then, Alberta farmers have turned in 203,889 kilograms of obsolete pesticides. After collection, the pesticides are taken to a licensed waste management facility located in northern Alberta where they are safely disposed through high-temperature incineration.

The obsolete pesticide collection program generally comes to the province every three years and is free for farmers to participate in. In 2013, the program will run in the northern half of the province. In between collections, farmers are asked to safely store their unwanted pesticides until they can properly dispose of them through the obsolete pesticide collection program.

Cleanfarms collects all liquid and dry granular commercially labelled pesticides. They come in all sizes and types of containers from as small as 250 millilitres up to 500-litre totes. They can also include products delivered in multi-walled paper and plastic bags.

The products are mainly for farm use but may also include obsolete pesticides from golf courses, commercial landscape operations and structural pest control. The program is part of the plant science industry’s commitment to responsible life cycle management of its products.

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