Consequences for good management are negative when farmers’ behavior towards the waste is incorrect
The management of 22 tonnes of empty pesticide packages reflects the work being done in the municipality of Komotini on hazardous waste, but the reality in the prefecture of Rodopi clearly demonstrates that a cuckoo is not enough to bring in the spring. In the absence of a formal plan for the management of empty pesticide packages, Municipalities serving farmers locally installed metal bins at water supply points for agricultural use to collect them there. Unfortunately, many times, the behavior of farmers for this waste is incorrect, namely:
(a) Poor rinsing does not result in pesticide residues remaining on the packaging and turning into hazardous waste.
b) In the area where the packages are collected, the waste is dumped around the site and outside the special bin.
c) Other types of waste are thrown into the collection bin such as branches, animals, garbage, rubbish, thus forcing the Municipality workers to sort out in order not to be sent to the waste management company for mixed waste.
d) Sometimes farmers burn the packages and cause environmental contamination and harm public health.
And the municipality of Komotini may collect the empty pesticide packages, but we do not find the same consequence in other municipalities of Rhodope. There are many images captured by the “X” lens with empty pesticide packages scattered on the ground, outside the buckets.
Management steps in the Municipality of Komotini
With the valuable assistance of the Chief Engineer of the Department of Environment and Civil Protection of the Municipality of Komotini Adamantios Eftychakou, a mechanical engineer, we are following the steps that have been made in the Municipality of Komotini regarding the management of empty packages, steps that the Municipality and others would like to imitate.
A proper step in safeguarding public health and protecting the environment is the management / recycling of empty packaging of plant protection products in order to minimize the environmental impact of this category of waste. A large number of citizens are involved in agriculture and the management of empty pesticide packages is an important part of protecting the environment.
The Municipality of Komotini in the years 2014-2015-2016-2017 has signed a contract with a licensed company for environmentally sound management of empty pesticide packages resulting from the cultivation of agricultural land within the administrative boundaries of our Municipality and neighboring Municipalities. By 2017, the Municipality of Komotini has properly managed at least 22 tonnes of empty pesticide packages.
The contract provides for the collection of empty packages by means of the Municipality of Komotini for their transportation to a special site enclosed within the Landfill of Komotini and then their transfer from the contractor to processing – utilization at the company premises.
Specifically, the Municipality of Komotini has placed metal bins of 10m3 metal mesh at all water supply points for agricultural use, and with a skip loader collects and transports empty packages to the landfill of Komotini.
The contractor company with specialized personnel observing the safety and health rules of the worker places the empty packages in special large containers suitable for empty pallets packed in pallets and then loads them in a closed truck. The packages are then labeled as provided for by the current Legislation, weighing the waste in the near-by scales and transporting the waste to the licensed hazardous waste storage facility of the contractor.
Finally, upon receipt of the waste, a Certificate of Receipt is issued by the contracting company which, in accordance with the applicable Legislation, becomes the principal and obliged management body for their further treatment and disposal.
The European Directive (94/62 / EU) and national legislation require that the polluter pays and all organizations that place product packaging on the market are required to recover 50% of the weight of packaging waste and recycle 25%.
The program has been successfully implemented in many European countries, including Germany, France, England, Spain, Poland and others.
The proper triple flushing process of empty pesticide packages
Pesticide packages must be pre-disposed of by farmers before the proper triple flushing process of empty pesticide packages.
We note that this process is already an obligation of farmers under the Good Agricultural Policy program implemented by the Department of Agriculture, while relevant studies confirm that it removes 99.9% of the product in the container, thus justifying the vacuum packaging in the category of non-toxic waste.
After rinsing, the empty containers should be allowed to drain well and then placed in special plastic bags, which will be provided free of charge to farmers from plant protection shops.
Packaging caps should be placed in a separate plastic bag.
The farmers will carry the empty plastic bags in one of the municipal collection bins.
Therefore the key to the success of integrated pesticide packaging management is the proper cooperation of farmers and municipalities.
