Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/46524
usinesses of all types are increasingly being scrutinized for their impact on the environment. Golf courses are no different. Golfers and community residents alike want to know that these expansive green spaces are being managed in a way that is good for the environment and local wildlife. And governments have started stepping in to regulate golf course operations, including things like pesticide use. The fact of the matter is that most golf course operators take great pride in managing their courses in an environmentally responsible way. They want to do the right thing, but like any other business, they are faced with competing pressures for their time and resources. One easy way for golf courses to demonstrate their environmental responsibility is to recycle their empty pesticide containers. "This is a no- cost, easy way to protect the environment and ensure the safety of staff and clients," says Barry Friesen, general manager of CleanFARMS, an industry-led non-profit stewardship organization that operates a national empty pesticide container recycling program. Pesticides are an important part of a golf course maintenance crew's toolkit. But it's important that empty pesticide containers be properly cleaned and recycled, not reused or disposed of in landfills. Containers can be dropped off at one of about a thousand locations from coast to coast, or in some cases, retailers will pick up empty containers from golf courses. While the ban on the use of cosmetic pesticides in Ontario allows golf courses to continue responsibly using pesticides within certain guidelines, it requires that all golf courses prepare an annual report on their annual pesticide usage. As part of this, they must hold a public meeting on the contents of this report. "Members of the public and officials who attend these annual meetings and read the report would be pleased to hear that golf courses are taking the necessary steps to recycle their empty pesticide containers," says Friesen. "It's an easy way for owners to show their commitment to protecting the environment." So far, Ontario is the only province where golf courses are required to present their pesticide usage publicly but other provinces may soon choose to follow suit. And stricter regulations governing golf course operations as they relate to the environment may not be too far down the line. "Whether golf courses are required to report on their environmental commitments or not, we know that they want to be proactive in doing the right thing. Our program helps them do just that," says Friesen. This program is free but CleanFARMS does ask that people do their part to ensure containers can be properly and safely recycled. Containers must be triple or pressure rinsed. This ensures that all of the product gets used; it avoids spills or drips when the container is being transported; and it allows CleanFARMS to recycle the containers into valuable new products such as farm drainage tile. And in some regions triple rinsing is a legal requirement. CleanFARMS also asks that the booklet and cap be removed (the label can stay on). This again ensures that the plastic can be properly recycled. In 2010 alone, more than 4.5 million empty pesticide containers were collected across the country. This is a considerable number and the resulting environmental savings are significant. To learn more about where to recycle their empty containers, golf course operators can speak with their input retailers or visit the CleanFARMS website at www.cleanfarms.ca. Source: Erin O'Hara, Communications Officer CropLife Canada¥˚612-350 Sparks St. Ottawa, ON K1R 7S8 ¥ P: 613-230-9881 ext. 3223 ¥ E: oharae@croplife.ca estrictions on water and chemical usage are here, and the recession is here. Neither of which is going away, and we as professionals must accept these two facts and adjust. Big Job? Yes it is, but if we truly are professionals we will adjust and be more effective in how we meet the challenges and produce an even better product for our customers and members. A recent conversation with a very successful superintendent centered on how he needed to be much better at his job than three years ago. The recession and last year's high temperatures forced him to rethink many of his practices and to think further about what his plants need for oxygen. We learned last year that even with ideal physical properties in our greens root zone that there was not enough oxygen in our root zones [during severe heat stress] to meet the needs of our bent grass plants. Last year I worked with a number of golf courses on ways of supplying more oxygen to the plants root system through the root zone by way of the drain tiles and gravel blanket. We used Sub-Air and Precision Air units, converted surface air blowers such as the Toro and Buffalo units, and back pack blowers to push air from the surface, through the drain tiles, from where it traveled through the gravel layer and up into the root zone for uptake by the plants root system. The particular superintendent was continuing the process he had started of finding his greens' drain tiles and clean outs and transforming those that needed it into being able to accept and successfully distribute surface oxygen to his plants roots. It had become a practice that works for him. The U.S. government issued an edict a few years ago requiring that the usage of all chemicals be reduced by 20 percent over the next 10 years and follow that with a requirement that all water usage be reduced by 20 percent over the next 10 years also. This edict applied to all sports turf areas, including club house grounds and all areas surrounding a sports turf facility, golf, tennis, athletic fields, play ground areas etc. During the spring of 2010, the water edict was changed to read that water usage would be reduced by 20 percent by the year 2015, based on the usage from the year 2009. The new edict applies to all U.S. government areas and not just sport turf areas, including the Pentagon and the White House grounds. The U.S. government is going green everywhere. This program of reducing chemical and water usage that the government has started is for real and is here to stay. The information that we at I.S.T.R.C. have gathered over the last 20 years about physical properties, water retention and plant stress will allow the government's program to be successful and be a role model for all of us in the years to come. The non-government sector of sports turf will follow the government's lead if for no other reason than the cost savings, which are on average 20 percent a year. What a wonderful thing of beauty when we can reduce cost of chemicals and water, produce a better product – healthy turf – and help the environment. Dave Doherty is CEO and founder of the International Sports Turf Research Center, Inc. (ISTRC) and holds three patents regarding the testing of sand and soil- based greens. He can be reached at (913) 706- 6635 or via email: daveistrc@hotmail.com