Pact Group aims to recycle a million chemical drums a year through new program

A new initiative between industry organisation CropLife, its not-for-profit stewardship subsidiary Agsafe, and plastic recycler and manufacturer Pact Group could see nearly a million plastic agricultural chemical containers recycled a year, according to those involved.

According to a statement from Pact on Wednesday, Drums-to-Drums is a new part of the drumMUSTER initiative, which has been running for over a quarter of a century and recycled more than 42 million drums into new products. Drums have been traditionally been recycled into plastic pellets to be made into products such as park benches. 

The new, Australian-first program is based on a new chemical drum developed by Pact that can be manufactured with as much as 30 per cent recycled plastic. Details of the innovation were not given in the release.

Pact said it now aims to collect, recycle and remake “nearly a million plastic agricultural chemical drums” annually through material collected via drumMUSTER, “creating a circular solution for plastic agrichem and agrivet containers.”

“The Drums-to-Drums initiative demonstrates that industry-led initiatives are often best placed to develop effective solutions for industry-specific needs,” said Pact’s General Manager, Industrial Manufacturing, Ben Andrews.

CropLife, which started drumMUSTER in 1999, said growers could participate in the new initiative by continuing to be part of drumMUSTER, which accepts chemical drums at 830 collection points around Australia. 

CEO of CropLife, Matthew Cossey, said “Plastic packaging plays an essential role in Australia’s agricultural industry by protecting seed, agricultural chemicals and pelletised pesticide for their safe transport, storage and use.

“The plant science industry takes whole-of-life stewardship of its products very seriously, investing heavily in genuine initiatives that ensure we’re responsibly managing products at each stage of its lifecycle.”

Picture: supplied