Fortnightly Column
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Loddon Mallee Waste and Resource Recovery Group
13/03/2015
Clean drums only for drumMUSTER
drumMUSTER is a national collection and recycling scheme for empty, cleaned, non-returnable crop production and
animal health chemical containers, with both plastic and steel containers accepted. Since its first collection in May
1999 drumMUSTER has collected and recycled 25 million containers throughout Australia.
Using the principal that disposing of containers in the right way is crucial to the reputation of the Australian
agricultural industry the voluntary program can take pride in the fact that it has diverted tens of thousands of tonnes
of waste from landfill that has instead been turned into wheelie bins, fence posts and garden stakes.
There are over 30 free drop off sites throughout the Loddon Mallee region, including Kyneton, Swan Hill, Sea Lake
and Mildura. Details on each location and its opening times are available at drummuster.com.au.
While the popularity of the drumMUSTER scheme has been growing there has also been in increase in the number of
drums being rejected at drop off facilities due to them not being properly cleaned. Ensuring drums are clean when
they are delivered is crucial as any liquids left in the drums are classified as hazardous waste.
Each drum, both plastic and steel, that is delivered to a drumMUSTER site is checked over by a qualified inspector
and any containers that do not meet requirements are sent back with the farmer.
It is easy to ensure that all containers taken to a drumMUSTER collection point meet the cleanliness standards by
either triple rinsing, pressure washing or using a mechanical rinsing device to wash out any chemicals left in the
drums. The drums then need to be stored so that they can drain and must contain no liquids or residue when they
are delivered to a drumMUSTER site.
Farmers wanting to know more about collections taking place in their local area can contact their local Council or
visit the LMWRRG website – www.lmwrrg.com.au and follow the links to drumMUSTER.
-ENDSFor more information on this column please contact: Rachel McConville 0419 106 461