Brazil's Ministry of Environment says it has recycled 94% of pesticide packaging in its domestic market
Brazil's Ministry of the Environment says it has recycled 94% of the pesticide packaging on its market, which will either be repurposed into the same product or incinerated where appropriate.
According to the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, in 1999 50% of crop protection packaging was donated or sold, 25% was burned in the open, 10% was stored outdoors, and 15% was discarded.
Brazil's National Institute of Empty Packaging Processing (Inpev) is responsible for integrating the entire agricultural chain from product manufacturers to farmers through the Campo Limpo system, ensuring that almost all primary plastic packaging sold is environmentally compliant. Since 2002, the system has processed 650,000 tons of pesticide packaging. This is also a successful case of Brazil's reverse logistics policy and set an example for the world.
Recycling product packaging is a model worth emulating in the agricultural pesticide industry, where rural producers, manufacturers, distributors and recyclers in Brazil have been collaborating in this field for more than 20 years to ensure the complete recycling of the packaging used, as well as the result of environmental efforts .
The environmental benefits of recycling pesticide product packaging are manifold. For example, the reverse package logistics project avoided 899,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 2002 and 2021, equivalent to more than 150,000 truck trips around the globe. If the avoided carbon dioxide emissions did occur, 6.5 million trees would need to be planted to compensate. Recycling also saves energy. Since 2002, 36 billion megajoules of energy have been saved, which is enough to provide the electricity needs of 5.2 million homes for a year.
The project has 411 central processing points and pesticide packaging collection points, serving 1.8 million farmers across Brazil, and more than 4,000 mobile collection points. This was announced by the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment at a recent event of record in the field of reverse logistics.
If not disposed of properly, pesticide packaging can lead to soil, water and air pollution, negatively impacting the environment and human health. Consumers must return the packaged pesticide residues to the commercial establishment indicated on the invoice for environmentally friendly disposal.
Source: AgroPages
