The pilot of a new agricultural bag stewardship program bagMUSTER has been launched at the Fertilizer Australia Conference in Darwin today.
A partnership between CropLife Australia and the Australian Seed Federation (ASF), the new program complements the existing drumMUSTER and ChemClear programs, run by CropLife’s stewardship organisation Agsafe.
Announcing the program last November, Matthew Cossey, CropLife Australia Chief Executive Officer, said the program was designed following the company’s experience running stewardship programs for almost 30 years.
“bagMUSTER is being developed as a hybrid program, taking the best and most suitable components from drumMUSTER and ChemClear to deliver an industry-led and fit for purpose stewardship solution for agricultural seed, pesticide and other farm input product bags,” he said.
Cossey said plastic packaging was essential to Australia’s agricultural industry, and was crucial for protecting seed, pesticide and other products for transport, use and storage.
“What is also essential is that this packaging is collected and processed in a genuine and environmentally sustainable way onshore, here in Australia,” he said.
The bagMUSTER program’s fee-for-service model will aim to minimise costs to the farming sector, with manufacturers, suppliers and importers bearing the brunt of the cost. Government partnerships will also play a role in ensuring a viable and sustainable model is delivered for farmers.
The program is designed with the intent to support the plant science industry in meeting the Australian Packaging Covenant’s 2025 National Packaging Targets, while also providing feedstock for new recycling technologies in Australia.
For more information, visit: bagmuster.org.au
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