HUNDREDS of litres of harmful pesticides and chemicals have been safely removed from farms across Cornwall and Devon in a pesticide amnesty.

As part of our work with the South West Water-funded Upstream Thinking project, and in collaboration with partners the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, we arranged the removal of more than 840 litres of contaminants in 2023 from agricultural premises.

The pesticide amnesty encouraged farms to hand in unwanted, outdated or banned chemicals so they can be safely disposed of and to prevent them from accidentally entering the environment. Through the scheme, old containers of pesticide were confidentially collected and disposed of for farmers for free, with the aim of promoting cleaner watercourses, healthier ecosystems and safer crop production.

Annabel Martin, Upstream Thinking Programme Manager at Westcountry Rivers Trust, said:

“Since 2016, we have collected and disposed of more than 7.3 tonnes of unwanted pesticides, herbicides and insecticides from 117 farms in our Upstream Thinking catchments in Cornwall and Devon.

“Given the highly mobile nature of these chemicals, it is incredibly important to remove the risk of spills and leaks, even when the river is distant to the farmyard.

“Providing this service enables farmers to do the right thing by the environment, without the risk of them having to transport the chemicals themselves.”

Upstream Thinking works with landowners to look at how land is managed to drive improvements in raw water quality in rivers across the region. It focusses on practical, preventative measures to address problems before they arise.

This was the second time a free pesticide collection and disposal service has been run. Cornwall Wildlife Trust said this time around farmers were much more willing to part with their pesticides. The number of farms storing and using chemicals has also fallen, down 40% over the period that the Upstream Thinking team has been working with farmers.

Carolyn Cadman, South West Water’s Director for Natural Resources, said:

“Often farmers hang on to outdated pesticides because they don’t know what to do with them or just don’t get round to disposing of them.

“These old containers can easily crack and lead to accidental spills to the environment.

“One gram of pesticide can be detected many kilometres downstream, which shows the importance of reducing potential harm by removing these products from the environment before they soak into the ground and reach the watercourse.”

Further collections are already underway for this year to continue to help protect the environment and natural water quality.

Upstream Thinking is an award-winning catchment management programme delivered by South West Water in partnership with Westcountry Rivers Trust, Devon Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South West, South West Lakes Trust, South West Peatland Partnership, Catchment Sensitive Farming and the University of Exeter.

Figures quoted are for the financial year ending April 2024.