A new scheme will see hazardous farm waste collected from designated drop-off points across the country. This will include everything from empty pesticide containers, veterinary medicine waste and used oil.
The venture will be overseen by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Environment, with discussions on the establishment of the scheme expected to commence in the first half of 2022.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) waste management plan estimates that there is about of 7,378t of hazardous wastes, excluding used batteries and electronic goods, currently stockpiled on farms. And with deteriorating condition of containers storing unused products, these pose a risk to human and environmental health.
The farm waste collection initiative piloted over 2014 – 2017 will form the basis of the scheme, which is expected to be operational by 2024, should the timeframe set out in the EPA’s National Hazardous Waste Management Plan for 2021-2027 be followed.
The Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Environment also plan to establish a forum on the management of spent sheep dip. Spent sheep dip has been as having significant toxic impacts on river ecosystems in areas where the practice of dipping is widespread. The EPA had announced that the relevant departments will start discussions by the end of March this year on the sheep dip forum.
LSL News.