The Parkes Shire community is very fortunate to have the co-operation of Parkes Shire Council in this wonderful program. The Parkes Waste Depot is one of 762 DrumMUSTER sites around Australia. Councils and other organisations, including community groups become involved in the program by signing an agreement with Agsafe to provide drumMUSTER services.

These program partners directly contribute to: less chemical containers ending up in our landfill; finding an environmental and sustainable solution to agvet container disposal issues for farmers and other chemical users; the conversion of waste into a valuable resource; and a cleaner environment for all of us.

DrumMUSTER at Parkes (and other surrounding areas) is run by a group of Landcare volunteers who have completed training as inspectors to run these collections. Our Parkes volunteers collected over 3,000 drums during 2016, which have since been processed. The plastic containers are either shredded, granulated or heat-extruded back to a resin suitable for plastics component production.

These materials are then manufactured into a new range of products. Some of these products include: wheelie bins; fence posts; irrigation pipes; and bollards. The metal containers are recycled through the normal metal recycling process. The use of recycled materials means that fewer containers go into landfill, and base products are being produced into plastic or metal items. This all helps to conserve natural resources and lowers Australia’s carbon emissions. 

Unfortunately, the area that is used for drumMuster is frequently used as a dumping point for paint tins, unrecyclable containers and oil containers that then have to be disposed of by volunteers This wastes time and is a danger to those who have to move the containers blocking access to the DrumMuster cage and drop-off area.

All farm chemical users within the region are encouraged to bring their empty, cleaned, metal and plastic farm chemical containers to the facility.

Remember, all drums must be correctly cleaned, both inside and out.

For information on how to effectively rinse your containers, go to the Central West Lachlan Landcare website home page at www.parkeslandcare.org.au and click on the link.

Unclean or partly filled containers will not be accepted and will remain the property of the chemical user.

Drop off registration is required by contacting Parkes Shire Council on 6861 2373 to book.