Poisons sold in drink bottles

Selling weed killers in soft drink bottles on TradeMe could lead to fatal consequences, the agrichemical industry body Agcarm fears.

Agcarm chief executive Mark Ross says the industry association has been pushing for a ban on selling these products on Trade Me, but the illegal and irresponsible practice continues.


Example of weed killer sold on Trade Me last year, which included the instruction to ‘mix round up approx. 100 ml to 10 litres of water'.

'As a parent what scares me is how irresponsible it is to put weed killer into a soft drink or juice container that children might drink from.”

Marks says there are rules on how these chemicals must be packaged, labelled, transported, stored and used.

This vital information is used to protect people and the environment from any ill-effects from incorrect use.

'It seems illogical that spray paint cans are banned from sale on Trade Me, yet pesticides in illegal packaging can still be found on the site.”

Agcarm is liaising with Trade Me to ban the sale of pesticides, due to recent examples of illegal auctions on their site.

'We realise that Trade Me has put restrictions on the sale of pesticides, but we would like to see them enforced.”

As the body representing a responsible industry, Agcarm's members are concerned that regulations to protect people's safety are being ignored.

'We don't want to wait for an accident, such as a child drinking pesticides before anything is done,” says Mark.

Agcarm members have seen examples of unidentified weed killer being sold in apple juice containers as well as products being delivered in insecure and leaking packaging, without childproof caps.

'What is also concerning is that these goods are being transported illegally by couriers who are unaware of what they are carrying and that they should have a special licence to be doing so,” adds Mark.

'It is illegal and dangerous to sell, gift or decant these substances in new packaging.

'The risk of these products falling into the wrong hands or being damaged in transit is damaging for the responsible segment of the agrichemical industry represented by Agcarm members.”

Agcarm is the industry association which represents crop protection, animal health and rural supplier businesses.

Agcarm members distribute and sell the majority of veterinary medicines and crop protection products in New Zealand. Agcarm members promote responsible use of products right through the product life cycle, from research to disposal.

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