Pesticide storage, disposal, drift and complaints in Australia

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. Australia splits pesticide rules between a national product regulator and the states. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, called APVMA below, sets the label. The pages read for this guide are from two state sources, the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, called the EPA below, and Business Queensland. Other states and territories have their own offices and rules, and none of them is described here.

At a glance

Topic	What the NSW EPA says
Law	The EPA regulates pesticide use and spray drift under the Pesticides Act 1999
Label	Reading and following the APVMA label instructions is a legal requirement
Storage	Storing a pesticide in a container without the approved label attached is listed as misuse
Disposal	Empty containers are hazardous waste until triple rinsed
Reports	Environment Line, phone 131 555, as soon as possible
Queensland reports	Biosecurity Queensland 13 25 23 for label breaches; Pollution Hotline 1300 130 372 for waterways, trees and fish kills

Storage

The EPA page on preventing pesticide misuse lists the acts it treats as misuse. Storing pesticides in containers that do not have the approved label attached is one of them. The same list names using an unregistered pesticide or possessing one with the intention of using it, failing to follow label or permit instructions, and placing pesticides or empty containers in waterways. The pages read do not set out storage building, ventilation or separation rules.

Disposal

The EPA page on safe disposal of pesticides says empty pesticide containers are classified as hazardous waste. Triple rinsing comes before disposal or recycling. The page gives the steps: empty the container into the spray tank and let it drain for an extra 30 seconds after the flow reduces to drops, fill it with clean water to 20 to 25 percent, shake or roll it for at least 30 seconds, pour the rinse water into the spray tank, and leave the drained container to dry with the cap off. It says rinsing should be done straight after emptying, because residues are harder to remove when dry.

After triple rinsing, containers under 1 litre or 1 kilogram can go in household kerbside collection for small scale operators, or commercial bins for larger operators, or to a local waste facility that may charge a fee. Larger containers or drums generally cannot be collected as household waste and go to a facility that can accept them. Containers that are not triple rinsed cannot go in kerbside collection and need a facility that can lawfully accept them. The page names ChemClear for unwanted chemicals and drumMUSTER, a national program for free collection of empty containers carrying the drumMUSTER symbol, funded by a levy of 4c per litre or kilogram in the purchase price. Containers must be triple rinsed before drumMUSTER takes them. The misuse page lists pouring pesticide waste down a drain as an example of illegal disposal.

Drift

The EPA page on avoiding pesticide spray drift defines spray drift as the movement of spray droplets outside the application site during or shortly after application. Its four-point checklist covers reading the label, using trained and accredited applicators, checking for neighbouring susceptible crops and sensitive areas, and monitoring weather before, during and after spraying. It says to avoid spraying when it is too hot or too windy and to check the weather conditions permitted on the label.

On temperature inversions, the page says not to spray in a hazardous surface temperature inversion, to treat all inversion conditions as hazardous when no monitoring system is available, and not to spray when it cannot be determined whether there is an inversion. It also lists notifying neighbours, which it says is sometimes courtesy and sometimes required by law, keeping to mandatory buffer zones on the label, calibrating equipment, choosing nozzles that give the largest spray quality that still meets label needs, keeping boom height low and avoiding adjuvants that shrink droplet size. It says a contractor's licence can be checked in the EPA pesticide licence database.

Complaints

The misuse page tells a person affected to report the incident to the EPA Environment Line by phone on 131 555 as soon as possible, and says all reports are confidential. It lists what to include: date, time and exact location, weather conditions, a description of the operator, symptoms in people, plants or animals, how and to what the pesticide was applied, the spray equipment, witnesses, photographs or video, and any notice given before application. It suggests not washing sprayed vehicles or possessions and considering not harvesting or grazing affected crops, because they may be evidence.

The page says people who have been sprayed should shower for health reasons, those at risk should move indoors and close windows, and acute poisoning calls go to the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26. It says authorised officers can investigate by phone or visit and take samples, that offences under the Pesticides Act are criminal offences the EPA must prove beyond reasonable doubt, and that the EPA may instead give advice where fines are not appropriate. It also says spraying from an aircraft within 150 metres of a home, school or other public place without the occupier's written consent is listed as misuse, with exceptions for roads, travelling stock reserves and RailCorp land.

Queensland

Business Queensland's spray drift guide separates droplet drift, the airborne movement of liquid droplets, from vapour drift, the movement of vaporised chemical. It says applying a product against its label is illegal, and its page on minimising the impacts lists keeping a buffer zone, choosing nozzles that give the right droplet size, keeping boom height right and stopping a contractor when conditions are wrong. Its page on who to report to sends human health concerns to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland on 1300 362 128, label breaches to Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23, damage to waterways, vegetation or trees and fish kills to the Pollution Hotline on 1300 130 372, odour to the local council, and adverse experiences with a product to the APVMA on 1800 700 583. The reporting page lists what to give investigators: date and time, place, operator details if known, application method, wind and temperature, the product and the label instructions possibly breached.

The page on keeping records of chemical applications says users must record who used the product, the landholder, who supervised, qualifications and product details under the Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary) Control Regulation 2017. Domestic use of retail home garden products applied by hand-operated devices is exempt. The pages read do not set out storage or disposal rules for Queensland.