Sharp County producers and commercial applicators will have the opportunity to dispose of their outdated and unused pesticides during a collection event on Tuesday, March 9th. The event will take place at the Sharp County Fairgrounds.
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 Products that will be accepted are outdated, discontinued or unwanted agricultural pesticides.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 Sharp County Farm Bureau office at 994-7306 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 the Sharp County Extension Agent at 994-7363 for information on safely transporting your chemicals to the event location.
