The Rural Voice, 1991-06, Page 49ADVICE
PESTICIDE
CONTAINER
DISPOSAL CAUTION
The problems of disposal must be
faced each time a pesticide is used.
Empty containers must be dealt with
after filling the spray tank. Often pesti-
cide solution is left in the tank after the
application is finished. The storage of
pesticides may result in surplus chemi-
cals due to damaged containers or old
inventory.
Never be careless when disposing of
empty containers, extra tank -mix solu-
tions, or surplus pesticide concentrates.
Take the time to prevent pesticide mis-
use and environmental damage by fol-
lowing proper disposal procedures.
Avoid disposal problems: You may
not have a problem disposing of pesti-
cide containers in your local landfill.
However, in some municipalities,
landfill operators are restricting or re-
fusing pesticide containers. It is pos-
sible to avoid some of the problems of
container disposal. One option is to buy
the required product in a dry formula-
tion. Paper packaging can be burned on
your farm.
A few products are now available in
soluble packaging. They are made of a
polyvinyl alcohol that dissolves when it
comes into contact with water, leaving
no container to dispose of.
Rinse containers: After pesticide
application, the grower will be left with
a number of empty containers. Actually
these pesticide containers are not
"empty." On average, an empty con-
tainer will still hold about one per cent of
its original pesticide content. Although
this figure appears to be low, it poses a
hazard to man and his environment.
To reduce the hazard of "empty"
pesticide containers, rinse empty con-
tainers as the spray tank is filling. Use
either the manual triple rinse technique
or a specially designed rinsing device to
rinse containers.
To triple rinse: fill the empty con-
tainer at least 10 per cent full of diluent
(usually water); cap, then shake or roll
so that the inside surfaces are well
rinsed; empty rinsings into the spray
tank; repeat procedure three times.
Remember to check the container
after rinsing is complete. Make sure no
pesticide has been left behind as a cake
or paste on the bottom of the container.
Once containers are properly rinsed,
they should be punctured (plastic),
crushed (metal), or broken (glass), to
make them useless for any future use. It
is often more convenient to store empty,
rinsed containers until enough have
been collected for disposal. If this is the
case, keep the containers in a secure
area, such as the storage area, until they
can be properly disposed of. Take the
rinsed containers to the local landfill.
If the landfill operators will not ac-
cept your containers, your only legal
option is to bury them on your farm. The
containers should be buried under at
least 50 cm of soil. Be certain that the
burial site chosen is not near any water-
course or in a high water table area.
Paper or cardboard containers are
often rigid enough to withstand rinsing.
If possible, triple rinse these containers
as you fill the tank. The containers can
then be burned in an isolated area.
The fire's smoke may contain toxic
fumes from burning pesticide. Be cer-
tain that there is no chance that a person
or animal breathes in this smoke. Make
sure that the smoke does not drift to-
wards buildings, roads, or any public
outdoor areas.
These containers can also be taken to
a local landfill site, or buried similar to
metal, plastic, or glass containers. If
disposal is delayed, gather the contain-
ers into a secure area such as the pesti-
cide storage area.0
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JUNE 1991 45