Farmers and industry are committed to protecting the environment, and this includes managing their agricultural waste in an environmentally sustainable way. There are programs in place to manage empty pesticide containers and surplus pesticides.
One of the primary sources of information and support for pesticide container recycling in Canada is CleanFARMS. CleanFARMS is a voluntary, industry-led program. Since the program began in 1989, more than 100 million empty containers have been collected, one of the most successful industry-led recycling programs in the world. Corteva Agriscience™ is proud to be a member of CleanFARMS.
You need to do some preparation work before recycling pesticide containers. After emptying, triple-rinse your plastic pesticide containers (up to 23 L). Remove the cap and booklet from the container. Visit https://cleanfarms.ca/ to find the nearest container collection depot or call your local dealer for more information. Your local dealer can also tell you how to dispose of containers greater than 23L.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, if you do have surplus spray mix, dilute the remaining spray mix by adding 10 parts of water for each 1 part of spray mix. This solution can be applied to the original treated area as long as you do not exceed the pesticide rate recommended on the label. Be sure to check the label for any restrictions about crop rotation, days to harvest or surplus spray mix disposal.
Never re-spray the treated field with undiluted spray mix. Spraying an area twice will double the recommended pesticide rate.
Be sure to safely dispose of pesticides. You can try and return the product to the original supplier if it is unopened. Obsolete, unwanted or unused pesticides are also collected by CleanFARMS during specific campaigns. Please visit https://cleanfarms.ca/ for more information.