Container Management

Appropriate packaging plays an essential role in ensuring that crop protection products are safely delivered to the end user. The plant science industry is taking the lead to ensure the development, use and appropriate disposal or recycling of crop protection containers is managed sustainably to protect both farmer health and the environment.

CropLife International has developed a global steering/advisory body – the Container Management Project Team (CMPT) – to provide guidance and advice to individual country program managers on how to establish cost-effective, sustainable programs and to share best practices. To see and download the set of guidance documents developed by the CMPT please click here.

There are over 40 established container management programs operating in countries around the world, in addition to a large number of pilot programs. These have been developed over a 20-year period and are often run in partnership between industry and government. The goals of these programs include:

  • protecting both the environment and the operator from exposure
  • appropriate treatment and safe disposal of used packaging
  • reducing waste and maximizing recycling
  • ensuring compliance with local packaging requirements and legislation

The plant science industry’s goal, by 2020, is to continuously improve the farmer return rate, and the number of countries with container management programs, collecting 50% of all the containers shipped into the global market and recycle as much as feasible into end use applications. A road map describing how to establish a container management program is available here.

The plant science industry supports container management programs across three main areas:

1.Research and design of containers

2.Training of distributors, retailers and end-users

3.Implementation of empty container collection and recycling options

Container management resources:

Container management country programs include Australia, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela

CropLife International has commissioned a tool to support container management programs worldwide and enable country managers to provide a sound environmental, social and economic approach. To access the Web-based Eco-efficiency Analysis Tool, please contact croplife@croplife.org, who will give you a login password. You can also download the user handbook here.