Melbourne, Ark.—Izard County producers and commercial applicators will have the opportunity to dispose of their outdated and unused pesticides during a collection event on Thursday, March 11th. The event will take place at the Izard County Road Department Shop on 9 Spur on Timber Lane.
The pesticide collection is free and is made available through funding from the Arkansas Abandoned Pesticide Trust Fund. Products that will be accepted are outdated, discontinued or unwanted agricultural pesticides. These pesticides may include older products that are more toxic, such as arsenicals, DDT, Silvex, heptachlor, dieldrin, lindane and toxaphene.
Many old pesticides cannot legally be used or disposed of through usual means, such as landfills. If you have pesticides that fall into this category, plan on bringing your pesticides to this event.
The purpose of this collection is to promote a safer and cleaner environment by reducing the amount of pesticides that could potentially contaminate the drinking water, groundwater, streams, rivers, and lakes across the state. To date the pesticide collections have brought in over 790,000 pounds of unwanted materials from seventy-five (75) counties.
If you’re interested in bringing your pesticides to the event, contact the Izard County Farm Bureau office at (870) 368-7368 to pre-register. Any identifying information, such as name and address, will be removed from the registration form so that anonymity may be provided. Contact your county agent at (870) 368-4323 for information on safely transporting your chemicals to the event location.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact the Izard County Extension Service as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
