Agsafe was established by the agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemical industry to support the safe and compliant handling, supply and disposal of agvet chemicals and their containers. Agsafe achieves this goal through the delivery of three national stewardship programs: Accreditation & Training; drumMUSTER and ChemClear.
ChemClear is the industry-funded program for the collection and disposal of unwanted agvet chemicals from farmers and other chemical handlers. Eligible products must be registered, identifiable and supplied by participating companies. The aim of ChemClear is to minimise the accumulation of agvet chemicals on farms, which may create risks to the environment, public health and trade. Almost all of the collected chemicals are used as an alternative fuel source in the manufacturing of cement.
The aim of drumMUSTER is to ensure that agvet chemical containers are managed in a way that minimises harm to the environment. drumMUSTER collects and recycles empty and clean agricultural chemical containers from farmers and other end-users, to stop them being unsafely stored on-farm, sent to landfill, buried or burned. The program is funded by a 4 cents-per-litre levy, which is applied to participating company products at the point of sale. A large proportion of these funds is distributed to the local government councils and community groups that collect the drums at over 750 sites across Australia. Recycled products include fence posts, wheelie-bins and park benches.
Agsafe Accreditation & Training aims to ensure that staff in the agvet chemical supply chain know how to safely store, transport and provide advice on agvet chemicals. The aim of the program is to ensure there is responsibility and compliance throughout the supply chain. Agsafe accredited businesses have proven they comply with a suite of government regulations and community standards in the safe handling and supply of agvet chemicals.