P.E.I. farmers return more than 33,000 kilograms of obsolete pesticides and livestock medications

CHARLOTTETOWN, Feb. 24, 2015 /CNW/ - Farmers in P.E.I. returned 33,000 kilograms of obsolete and unwanted pesticides and 350 kilograms of livestock and equine medications through CleanFARMS' obsolete collection campaign in 2014.

CleanFARMS, which operates the program, is a national, industry-led agricultural waste stewardship organization. Collections took place at seven participating ag-retail locations throughout P.E.I. from November 3 – 14. 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 P.E.I. 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"The program provides farmers with an environmentally responsible way to manage unused or out of date pesticides as well as livestock medications on their farms. The number of farmers who participated in the collection campaign this year shows the need for this kind of program. There's a real appreciation in the agricultural community to CleanFARMS for what they do," says John Jamieson, executive director of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture.

P.E.I. farmers have a long history of good stewardship practices. Since 1998, P.E.I. farmers have returned more than 69,000 kilograms of obsolete pesticides.

"We are pleased with the success of this program in P.E.I.," said Barry Friesen, CleanFARMS' general manager. "P.E.I. 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. 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.

For further information: Erin O'Hara, media relations, [phone] x3223 | [e-mail]