EPHC Priority Projects - Management of Chemicals

The ChemCollect program was established in 1999 as part of the management plan for organochlorine pesticides under the National Strategy for the Management of Scheduled Waste sponsored by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) .

ChemCollect was based on a free collection scheme for the collection and safe disposal of unwanted and de-registered agricultural and veterinary chemicals (particularly persistent organochlorines) from farms. This included DDT, chlordane, dieldrin, aldrin, heptachlor, lindane, hexachlorobenzene and chlorinated phenols such as pentachlorophenol, unwanted registered pesticides and other hazardous rural chemicals. Between 1999 - 2000, approximately 1700 tonnes of chemicals were collected. The majority of chemicals collected have been destroyed. The States and the Northern Territory are working together to ensure that these chemicals remain in storage and are destroyed in a timely and environmentally-sound manner. ChemClear provides ongoing collections of unwanted registered rural chemicals, which are otherwise non-returnable.

The ChemCollect program was coordinated by the Department of the Environment & Heritage (Australian Government) and implemented by State and Territory agencies (the Australian Capital Territory did not participate, as it conducted a similar program a few years earlier).The costs of the $27 million program were met by each State and the Northern Territory providing half the funds for its own collections and the Commonwealth Government providing matching funds.

The final report of the ChemCollect program can be downloaded below.

Title	Size	Download
Final report of the ChemCollect program	file size 507 kb

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