Welsh Water has opened a registration window for farmers, growers and land managers in Wales to dispose of any unwanted pesticides and herbicides as part of their free and confidential PestSmart project.

PestSmart encourages people across Wales to consider ‘smarter’ ways of weed, pest and disease control that do not impact on people, water or wildlife. The confidential scheme by Welsh Water safeguards drinking water quality before water reaches treatment works

Ian Christie, Managing Director of Water Services at Welsh Water, commented:

“Our routine raw water monitoring programme has detected increasing traces of pesticides in areas we have never seen them before. While these levels are too low to pose a risk to those drinking the water, they are enough to risk breaching rigorous drinking water standards so we want to work with farmers, growers and land managers to take action to address this issue together

“Even the most organised of land managers can find themselves with an out of date or now unlicensed product which can be difficult or expensive to dispose of correctly. To help them, we are launching a free ‘no questions asked’ disposal scheme to safely take away any unwanted pesticides and herbicides.

“We know that pesticides form an essential and everyday role in the agricultural community. However, if stored, used or disposed of incorrectly, they can have a devastating impact on people, water and wildlife. By providing this free and confidential scheme across Wales, we want to work with land managers to reduce the risk of pollution and safeguard raw water quality before it reaches our water treatment works.”

Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, said:

“This is a great initiative by Dŵr Cymru and I encourage all farmers, growers and land managers to register for the free pesticide disposal scheme. Minimising the impact of pesticides on the environment is an essential part of responding to the ecological crisis, protecting Wales’ watercourses for future generations.“

The scheme is available throughout Wales, not just Welsh Water’s operating area. It is completely confidential and available for a limited time on a first come, first served basis.

Landmanagers and farmers can register at www.dwrcymru.com/disposalscheme or by calling 01443 452716 by no later than 5pm on Tuesday 31st March 2020. All details will be securely transferred to Welsh Water’s appointed hazardous waste contractor.

This project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.