Rinsing and management of pesticides' containers.

In order to reduce the effects on the environment, it is necessary to improve the management of pesticides' containers. Usually, users burn or bury empty containers. These methods, even though decreasing must be avoided or even forbidden. Since 1996, empty containers are systematically collected in Belgium and are specifically removed by the firm Phytofar Recover created by the Belgian Federation of pesticides' manufacturers. Since the beginning, the recovery rate (percentage of containers recovered compared with the containers sold) goes on increasing to exceed 85% in 2001. These action and results are a world first (more than 500 tons of empty containers are collected yearly). Once collected, empty containers are subjected to the European Policy about toxic wastes since they contained dangerous products. Their removal must follow a specific removal process by incineration at very high temperature (> 1200 degrees C) with a specific filtration of the smoke. The treatment cost is high and reaches 2 Euros per kg of container. If the container is rinsed and the residue does not exceed 1000, 10,000 or 30,000 mg per kg of container (depending on the dangerousness of product: very toxic, corrosive or toxic), it will be considered as domestic waste and will therefore follow a much more economical energy production process. The study aims at determining the quantities of residue contained in empty containers and the parameters reducing the rinsing efficiency: the formulation (EC, WP, WG), the container's size, packaging's type (plastic container or paper bag), the rinsing technique. Almost 150 tests and analyses of residue have been carried out. A manual rinsing procedure has been set up in order to meet the standards about residue. Rinsing three times with an average volume of water (20 to 30%) allows to reach the lowest residue level. As bags containing powder (WG or WP) container not be rinsed, it is necessary to empty them completely. It is however difficult to reach the 1000 ppm residue limit.