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Northeast Washington farms to benefit from free pesticide disposal

OLYMPIA — The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is sponsoring a free pesticide disposal project in late September that will benefit farms and businesses located in Northeast Washington—primarily Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties. To participate, please contact WSDA by Aug. 17.

WSDA encourages farmers, businesses, residents and property owners to look for agricultural and commercial-grade pesticide products that are no longer needed or wanted. Instead of a customer taking pesticides to a specific location, WSDA staff will make arrangements to pick up the pesticides.

"These on-site visits is part of a pilot project to improve customer service in less populated rural areas," said Joe Hoffman, program coordinator. "Sometimes it's difficult to select one location or one particular day that is convenient for a majority of customers, so we're being more flexible to respond to customers' needs."

So far this year, WSDA staff has collected more than 108,000 pounds of unwanted pesticides.

"This service helps protect our local environment and prevent accidental exposure by properly disposing of damaged, unusable or unwanted pesticides," Hoffman said.

Agricultural and commercial-grade pesticide products accepted for disposal include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides and most chemicals that kill, repel or prevent unwanted pests. A hazardous waste company works with WSDA to segregate and package the pesticides for safe, legal transportation and disposal. Customer names do not appear on any retained documents.

Upon request, WSDA will provide free advance assistance at a customer's property to help inventory unwanted pesticides and package leaky containers. To sign up, call (360) 902-2056, (877) 301-4555 (toll free) or send an e-mail to wastepesticide@agr.wa.gov.

Empty pesticide containers, fertilizers, motor oil and household hazardous waste are not accepted for disposal by WSDA's program. Contact your local solid waste program for assistance with these other items.

For more information, contact the Waste Pesticide Program, Washington State Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 42589, Olympia, WA 98504-2589 or visit the WSDA Web site at agr.wa.gov and click on "Pesticides and Fertilizers."

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