Wine Australia is urging growers and vineyard managers to continue to safely store unwanted CCA-treated timber trellis posts as the sector seeks solutions for their sustainable disposal.
A recent survey of vineyard owners, funded by Wine Australia, revealed there was an estimated 89 million timber posts installed in vineyards across Australia to trellis vines, of which 78 percent are treated with CCA — a timber preservative containing copper, chromium and arsenic that protects it from fungal and insect attack.
Between 1.3 to 3.3 million CCA posts (12,000-30,000 tonnes) need to be replaced annually due to breakage.
Posts also enter the waste stream when vineyards are redeveloped or permanently removed.
Due to the potential for CCA to impact the environment and human health, the disposal of CCA-treated posts poses a challenge.
There is currently no at-scale proven recycling solution for them in Australia or overseas.
Disposing of CCA-treated posts to licenced landfill is currently the only legal pathway for their end-of-life management in Australia, but the cost and logistics of doing this means it is not often used.
“It’s crucial that vineyard owners and operators safely stockpile their posts or send them to an appropriate landfill until a sustainable, scalable solution is found that minimises risk to properties, businesses, communities and the environment,” says Alex Sas, senior research & innovation program manager at Wine Australia.
Paul Derrico, CEO of Murray Valley Winegrowers, says finding a solution to dispose of CCA posts is a critical challenge for winegrape growers in the region.
“The issue is also a significant one for the table grape and dried fruit growers in our region,” Derrico says.
“While we realise there is no quick fix, we hope a solution can be found in the very near future and we welcome Wine Australia’s endeavours in this space.
“In the meantime, we implore all growers in our region to store posts in a suitable location and in neat bundles on their properties so that when a solution is found, or they can be repurposed for something like fence posts, they are easily accessible and manageable.”
The Wine Australia website details how posts should be stockpiled safely and explains how Wine Australia is working with various partners to create alternative, low-emissions uses for end-of-life CCA posts.
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