Effective container cleaning for Crop Protection Products

Containers used for Crop Protection Products (CPP's) should be cleaned immediately after use as one integral step in preparing to spray. In most cases, cleaning entails first emptying then rinsing. Common-sense considerations make the case for container cleaning. It maximises placement of the CPP on target, saves money, and earns a "non-hazardous" classification for the container. Container cleaning is also an important element in the industry's Container Management Strategy. To maximise practical adoption of container cleaning, a series of measures should be promoted; quality container designs, appropriate container capacities. availability of rinsing equipment and effective promotion to spray operators and growers. Laboratory determinations of "rinsing levels" are useful to make relative comparisons (e.g. between two container designs) but they cannot be clearly related to hazard or risk. The paper identifies a series of measures as current priorities in Europe to increase adoption of container rinsing. These require action by both manufacturers and official bodies.