Deadline to sign up for free disposal
of unusable pesticides draws near
AUGUSTA — This October, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s (DACF) Board of Pesticides Control (BPC) will team up with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to help residents dispose of banned or unusable pesticides.
This free disposal program is open to homeowners, family-owned farms and greenhouses. Collection will occur at sites located in Presque Isle, Bangor, Augusta and Portland. To qualify, people must register by Sept. 26.
Gov. Paul R. LePage is urging Mainers to take advantage of this opportunity to protect the environment and save money through this once-a-year collection event that highlights cooperation between government agencies.
“This is an opportunity for Mainers to dispose of unusable pesticides properly and at no expense,” said LePage. “By consolidating collections into four central locations and using in-house resources and expertise, we can reduce disposal costs to about $2 per pound. That’s a great value for Maine taxpayers.”
It’s not unusual for homes and farms to have unintentional hazardous waste — banned pesticides or pesticides that have become caked, frozen or otherwise rendered unusable — sitting around in basements, garages or barns. These chemicals can be difficult and expensive to dispose of.
“It’s important for the protection of public, wildlife and environmental health that these products are dealt with properly and not thrown in the trash or down the drain where they can contaminate land and water resources, including drinking water,” said DACF Commissioner Walt Whitcomb. “People holding these chemicals should contact the BPC as soon as possible to register for the October collection.”
“Providing an easy and no-cost solution for Mainers to properly dispose of pesticides is a win for the environment and public health,” said Maine DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho. “The collection events cover the state and are held in Presque Isle, Bangor, Augusta and Portland providing accessible methods of collection and future disposal.”
The collected chemicals go to out-of-state disposal facilities licensed by the federal EPA where they are incinerated or reprocessed.
Registration by Sept. 26 is mandatory — drop-ins are not permitted. To register, get details and learn important information about the temporary storage and transportation of obsolete pesticides, go to the BPC web site at thinkfirstspraylast.org or call 287-2731.
The Maine Obsolete Pesticides Collection Program, jointly sponsored by the BPC and DEP, and paid for entirely through pesticide product registration fees, has kept more than 90 tons of pesticides out of the waste stream since its start in 1982.
