“Ontario farmers care about the environment and are keen to responsibly manage waste from their farms," Craig Hunter, manager of research and crop protection with the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (OFVGA), said in a release. "Our members have been taking part since the first disposal program was made available to them.”
The program is a success because farmers in Ontario are committed to participating these types of initiatives, Barry Friesen, general manager of CleanFARMS, said in the release.
The free disposal comes to each province about every three years. It will come to Ontario next in 2019. Until then, farmers are encouraged to safely store their unwanted pesticides and livestock medications.
Parts of the country expected to participate in similar CleanFARMS programs this year are:
- British Columbia – Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island,
- Saskatchewan – Southern Region,
- Quebec – Province-wide, and
- rince Edward Island – Province-wide.
According to the organization, since the program’s inception in 1998, more than two million kilograms of pesticides have been safely and properly disposed of.