Pesticide Collection Initiative Launched for Environmental Protection

South West Water has announced that a pesticide amnesty was conducted across Devon and Cornwall with the aim of safeguarding the environment. The utility reported that more than 840 litres of hazardous chemicals were gathered from farms by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Westcountry Rivers Trust. This undertaking, funded by the water company, encouraged the voluntary surrender of unwanted, outdated, or banned chemicals to prevent their accidental release into the environment. Carolyn Cadman, South West Water’s director for natural resources, highlighted the importance of this work, stating that “one gram of pesticide can be detected many kilometres downstream”. She elaborated: “Often farmers hang on to outdated pesticides because they don’t know what to do with them or just don’t get round to disposing of them.” She added that these old containers can easily crack and lead to accidental spills to the environment. South West Water also confirmed that further collections are already under way. Annabel Martin, head of land management at Westcountry Rivers Trust, noted that the service allowed farmers to “do the right thing” without risk to themselves. She stated: “Since 2016, we have collected and disposed of more than 7.3 tonnes of unwanted pesticides, herbicides and insecticides from 117 farms in our Upstream Thinking catchments in Devon and Cornwall.” Martin further stressed: “Given the highly mobile nature of these chemicals, it is incredibly important to remove the risk of spills and leaks, even when the river is distant to the farmyard.”